If your child is in an accident that results in a catastrophic injury such as brain injury, or has a complication related to cerebral palsy that requires emergency care, one of the first things you must think about is “consent.” While consent is often misunderstood as a medical term, in fact it’s a legal doctrine based on certain patient rights.

There are three types of consent that parents should be aware of: informed consent, actual consent, and implied consent.

Informed Consent

Informed consent is a doctrine that states health care providers must disclose certain information—specifically diagnosis, treatment options, and any potential risks associated with those options—that allow a patient to make an informed decision about his care. A patient who makes a decision without all of the necessary information risks making a poor decision.

A person must be deemed “competent” in order to make decisions regarding her healthcare. Children, however, are automatically deemed “incompetent,” as it is assumed they don’t have the maturity or cognitive abilities to make informed decisions. Therefore, healthcare providers must disclose certain information to their parents instead, so that the parents can then make informed decisions.

Actual Consent

Once parents have made an informed decision based on all of the information provided by the healthcare professional, they will be asked to sign a consent form. This is called actual consent, and gives the medical team permission to perform the treatment.

Implied Consent

Most parents want to know what happens if they are not around to give consent at the time of their child’s emergency. After all, many emergencies require immediate treatment—so immediate that it might be difficult to track down parents in a timely manner.

In cases such as this, a medical team can treat your child according to the legal doctrine of implied consent, which states that any time there is an emergency, the patient’s consent (or in this case, the consent of his parents) is considered implied.

If your child experiences a medical emergency—defined as one that is life threatening and requires immediate attention—and you can’t be contacted, he will be treated at the scene of the accident and in the emergency room until he has stabilized. Informed consent is needed for additional treatment once the child’s life is no longer in danger. While the medical team can make recommendations regarding your child’s non-emergency care, it is ultimately up to you as a parent to make the right choices and decisions based on information you’ve gathered.