Risk Management FAQ's

In Florida, a person under the age of 18 is considered a minor and generally may not consent to his or her own medical treatment without the consent of a parent, legal custodian or legal guardian. However, exceptions to this rule apply when a minor is married, pregnant or the parent of a dependent minor child.

Additional exceptions exist for particular types of medical treatment. A minor who has reached the age of 17 may consent to the donation of blood and the penetration of tissue necessary to accomplish such donation. The consent of a parent or guardian is not necessary when a minor seeks examination and treatment for sexually transmissible diseases, or for voluntary substance abuse impairment services. A minor over the age of 13 may be provided access to outpatient crisis intervention services and treatment without the disability of nonage.

In circumstances in which a minor has been injured in an accident, or is suffering from an acute illness, disease or condition and the delay in the initiation or provision of emergency care would endanger the well-being of the minor, parental consent is not necessary prior to the medical treatment if the minor’s parents, guardian or legal custodian cannot be immediately located by telephone. The minor’s medical records should reflect the reason parental consent was not initially obtained and should contain a statement from the physician that emergent medical care was necessary for the minor’s health or physical well-being.

Florida law also provides exceptions to the parental notification requirement mandated in situations in which a minor seeks the termination of a pregnancy or sterilization. Notice of a physician’s intent to perform or induce the termination of a pregnancy must be provided to a pregnant minor’s parents or guardian unless the minor (1) is married, (2) is 16 years of age or older and has had the disability of minority judicially removed, (3) has a dependent minor child, or (4) applies for and is granted judicial waiver of the parental notification requirement.

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The risk management advice presented in this Site is intended as general information of interest to physicians and other healthcare professionals. The recommendations and advice published on this Site do not reflect or establish a standard of care and do not establish rules for the practice of medicine. The publication of this information is not intended as an offer to insure such conditions or exposures, or to indicate that MAG Mutual Insurance Company will underwrite such risks for the reader. Our liability is limited to the specific written terms and conditions of actual insurance policies issued.