Comment on Court: Tourette’s patient can sue for being denied procedure

PORTLAND, Maine — A woman who has Tourette’s syndrome may proceed with her lawsuit against a surgeon who declined to repair her injured shoulder because of her disability, the state Supreme Court ruled. The doctor performed surgery on Carol Cutting’s injured shoulder but opted not to repair her torn rotator cuff because he thought her uncontrolled arm movements linked to her disability would cause the repair to fail. The problem was that he never explained that to Cutting until after the surgery was over, preventing the patient from knowing all the options and risks, and having any say in them, said her attorney, Laura White. “Essentially, he never had an informed consent discussion that explained that she would be treated differently than other patients,” the attorney said.