Attorney David Di Pietro appeared on NewsMax TV to discuss a case involving a lawsuit alleging that UW doctors performed gender-altering surgeries without proper consent.
David is a former Broward County prosecutor and experienced trial litigation attorney. His current legal practice areas include healthcare law, medical malpractice, and more. Continue reading to learn about this case and what type of outcome to expect.
Case Details
In this case, a 23-year-old woman is suing two surgeons and a hospital in Dane County Circuit Court, Wisconsin, for performing gender-affirming surgeries without her proper consent. The surgeons, Jay Lick and Katherine Gast, along with UW Hospital, are accused of malpractice and failing to obtain informed consent.
The woman underwent a hysterectomy at 19 and a double mastectomy at 21, procedures she now claims were carried out based on her self-diagnosis of gender dysphoria during her late teens. The lawsuit contends that the doctors did not independently diagnose her with gender dysphoria.
The suit also includes allegations of discrimination under the Affordable Care Act, hospital negligence, and denial of benefits and care that a non-transgender woman would have received.
According to Attorney David Di Pietro, this case is no different than a standard medical malpractice case. Informed consent cases are exactly the same in that the case seeks to determine if the standard of care in the medical community was violated. In other words, did these physicians conduct an appropriate psychological evaluation and inform the patient of the risks associated with this procedure so that under all reasonable circumstances, she would have made the proper decision.
Based on the facts of the case, it doesn’t appear the patient was in a position to make the appropriate decision and give informed consent to undergo this life altering surgery.
About Attorney David Di Pietro
