The plaintiff, Bonner, was a 16-year-old Washington resident who had a severely burned cousin. The cousin was brought to the defendant, a plastic surgeon, for treatment. The physician advised a skin graft. After many unsuccessful attempts to find a donor, Bonner's aunt asked him to go to the hospital for a test to see if his blood would match with that of his cousin. He went to the hospital, had the test, and his blood matched. The defendant performed the first operation on Bonner's side. Bonner's mother, with whom he lived, was ill and knew nothing of the operation. Bonner later returned to the hospital for a second operation. He told his mother that he was going to have his side "fixed up." Instead, Bonner remained in the hospital, where an unsuccessful graft was attempted. In the course of the operation, Bonner lost a lot of blood and skin and had to remain hospitalized for two months. There was sufficient evidence for the jury to believe that Bonner's mother never knew the exact nature of the operations or consented to them. When his mother did learn of the operations, she made no attempt to prevent them but instead allowed Bonner to return to complete them. Bonner was a minor. Must the parents of a minor give consent before an operation for the benefit of another may be performed?

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In this case the issue at hand is whether the parents of a minor must give consent before an operati... View the full answer