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Salgo v. Leland Stanford Jr. University Board of Trustees makes "informed consent" legally binding.

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This is the first legal ruling to identify the need for a hospital to provide patients with information about the potential benefits and risks of any medical procedure. This begins to move informed consent from a cultural agreement to a legally binding practice.

The plaintiff, Martin Salgo, "had arteriosclerosis of the aorta and underwent a translumbar procedure to evaluate its extent. During the procedure, a contrast agent was injected into his aorta to identify blockages, and the procedure resulted in permanent paralysis of his lower limbs. Mr [sic] Salgo sued the university medical center and its chief surgeon for lack of disclosure of this potential risk" (Bazzano et al., 2021).