In the context of informed consent, which defense asserts that a risk not disclosed is commonly known and does not warrant disclosure?

• A. Informed consent requires disclosure of all risks in every case
• B. The risk not disclosed is commonly known and does not warrant disclosure
• C. A patient cannot sue for lack of informed consent if consent was obtained
• D. Disclosure is always mandatory regardless of circumstances

Answer: (B)

Informed consent rests on sharing material risks that could influence a patient’s decision. There is a recognized exception: if a risk is commonly known to patients, its non-disclosure does not undermine the consent because the average patient would already be aware of it. This defense reflects the idea that you shouldn’t burden a patient with information that is universally understood and would not change the choice to proceed. It helps focus on genuinely material information while avoiding unnecessary details. The other statements overstate or misstate how disclosure works: you don’t have to disclose every possible risk in every case; patients can still sue for lack of informed consent if a material risk was omitted; and disclosure isn’t absolutely mandatory in all circumstances because commonly known risks can be treated as already understood.