[Patient information and professional responsibility: reversal of jurisprudence of the Court of cassation]

Abstract

The Court of cassation is the highest court in the French judiciary. In a recent decision on June 3, 2010, the supreme jurisdiction quashed partially a court of appeal judgement. A patient developed erectile dysfunction following open prostatectomy for benign prostatic hyperplasia. The patient was not informed of this risk before the surgery. The judges recall that failure to provide information, including very exceptional risks, asserts in itself the physician's responsibility and allows financial reparation for patients. In accordance with this decision, a new jurisprudence in medical responsibility is born.