ABSTRACT
Rebecca Jacob had sustained a traumatic brain injury in a road traffic collision and had cognitive difficulties as a result. She had been in hospital for a couple of months when she required surgical treatment for the removal of a cancerous growth that had been found. The surgical team needed to assess her capacity to consent to the procedure, which included a general anaesthetic. The surgeon therefore left information regarding the procedure with Rebecca to read in her own time with support from staff. Unfortunately, the baby was deprived of oxygen during the delivery, due to the extra procedure that had to occur, and ended up with cerebral palsy. The judgment decreed that a person should be able to decide which option to choose and, therefore, the person needs to be given all of the relevant information in order to be able to make an informed decision.
