We start with the basic premise that a child's parents are his or her natural guardians with authority to consent to medical treatment. Problems arise when parents are divorced, and medical facilities are unaware of which parent has the legal authority to give permission regarding medical treatment. The issue of joint custody complicates the issue for health care providers as well. Generally speaking, the parent with legal, not physical, custody, is empowered to give consent.
Another problem health care facilities face is when a medical emergency, such as a rise in intracranial pressure, arises in a minor child with a head injury, and no parent can be found to consent to the treatment. Without consent, a health care provider risks liability for treating without authorization, i.e., for battery. But if a true medical emergency exists, the legal doctrine of "implied consent" controls the situation. This doctrine states that an individual implicitly gives consent to emergency treatment that would save his or her life or limb. Some states even require that emergency treatment be given by a physician without consent, and provide legal protection for such emergency treatment rendered in goodfaith. Therefore, when a true emergency exists, health care facilities have the implied consent of a minor child with a head injury to render the necessary emergency treatment.
Informed consent for minor children with head injuries becomes problematic when the minor child turns 18 years old while a patient at a facility. At that age, he or she is considered an adult and, for purposes of medical treatment, is presumed competent to give consent. Nevertheless, in circumstances in which a young head-injured patient over 18 years is incapable by reason of his or her mental disability to provide consent, a guardian should be appointed. The parents of the head-injured child are not automatically the legal authorized representative. The parents or other designate must go to court, where it will be determined whether the young head-injured patient is incompetent and whether the parents or other designate are appropriate as guardians. Only then will they be given specific legal authority to consent to the proposed medical treatment. The latter point is significant because minor children with head injuries often have their parents serve as guardians because of personal injury lawsuits, but this "guardianship" is not necessarily valid for consenting to medical treatment once the patient reaches 18 years. A separate court proceeding regarding guardianship must be held.
Persons who treat pediatric head injuries must be cognizant of the surrounding legal issues so that they can give appropriate treatment without risking any legal liability.