If informed consent is not given and tests and procedures are performed, what is this known as?

When informed consent is not obtained and medical tests or procedures are performed on a patient, this situation is classified as battery in a legal context. Battery refers to the unauthorized touching or treatment of a person. In healthcare, it emphasizes that a patient has the right to make informed decisions about their own body and medical treatment. Performing any procedure without consent violates this principle, regardless of whether the intent was to cause harm or not.

This concept is critical in medical ethics and law, because it protects patients' autonomy and their right to control their own healthcare decisions. If a patient has not provided informed consent and a procedure takes place, it does not matter if the procedure was performed competently or in the patient’s best interest; the lack of consent establishes the act as battery.

While other terms like personal liability, abuse, and res ipsa loquitur have their specific definitions and implications in the medical and legal realms, they don't encompass the clear violation of consent that battery does. Personal liability relates to the responsibilities of healthcare providers, abuse implies mistreatment or harm that goes beyond unauthorized medical intervention, and res ipsa loquitur refers to a legal doctrine that presumes negligence based on the nature of an accident rather than requiring direct evidence of the negligent act. Thus