Is it illegal for a doctor to fail to inform a patient of malpractice?

The issue of medical malpractice disclosure varies from state to state. Most jurisdictions seek to balance the doctor's privacy with the patient's right to know. In Willis v. Bender, a malpractice case arising in New Mexico, the 10th Circuit Court (Wyoming) addressed whether a doctor is obligated to disclose his medical background to his patient. The court recognized that a doctor generally has no duty to disclose; however, the court also stated that in the particular circumstances of the case, where the doctor had several complaints lodged against him because of botched surgeries, the complaining patient could hardly have given informed consent where the doctor, when asked, denied any prior malpractice. The Court reversed a lower summary judgment in favor of the defendant doctor and ruled for the complainant.

Your state may be one where the physician has no duty to inform his patient about prior malpractice. However, the exception seems to be that the physician is culpable when he deliberately misinforms a patient about his past medical errors. Consult with a medical malpractice attorney to determine your state's laws regarding a duty to disclose and whether the scope of "informed consent" includes a doctor's prior errors.