Emergency Exception and Consent

1. Emergency Exception and Consent

J., 17 years old, is seriously injured while jumping from a train on which he had been hitching a ride. Taken to a nearby hospital, he is given emergency treatment by Dr. Lycanthropus, who judges that the boy’s right arm will have to be amputated below the elbow because it had been crushed beyond repair. Two other physicians are consulted and agree that the amputation should be done immediately to protect J.’s life. J. is unconscious as a result of a concussion without changes on the CT scan of the brain. He is also medicated for possible pain to allow the suturing of a head wound that was bleeding profusely. Attempts to contact the boy’s parents in a neighboring town are unsuccessful. Dr. Lycanthropus amputates.

Should the physician have waited for J. to wake up to obtain informed consent? Should the physician have used pain medication as it may slow recovery of brain function? Is this a case for the emergency exception to the need for consent