Is informed consent required before surgery in the UAE, and what if it wasn't obtained?

Informed consent is an important requirement in UAE healthcare, and the law expects practitioners to inform patients about their condition and proposed treatment and to obtain consent before procedures, with particular care for surgery and certain interventions, subject to recognised exceptions such as genuine emergencies. The UAE Medical Liability Law (Federal Law No. 4 of 2016) frames disclosure and consent as part of a practitioner's duties toward the patient. If a procedure was carried out without proper informed consent, or you were not adequately told of material risks, that can be relevant to a medical-liability complaint, especially where the lack of consent or disclosure connects to the harm you suffered. When a complaint is filed, a Medical Liability Committee reviews the records, including the consent documentation, to assess whether the practitioner met the required standard. The exact consent rules and their exceptions are defined in the law and implementing regulations, so the position in your case should be confirmed against the current text. Keep the consent forms you signed as evidence. You can compare verified UAE legal professionals on LEXAI to evaluate a consent-related concern.