Problem
A woman enters the emergency room with abdominal pain. She undergoes a CT scan and is diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which is a weakening in the wall of the aorta. The physician informs her that she needs surgery immediately to correct the problem. Otherwise, the aneurysm may rupture, and she would bleed out and die in a matter of minutes. The woman is a swimsuit model, and she worries that the surgery will leave a scar that will negatively affect her ability to work. Therefore, she refuses any surgical treatment. Several days later, the woman arrives in the emergency room for an unrelated condition. She was in a car accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. She is stable but unconscious. The same physician in the emergency room sees her and decides to perform the surgery to repair her aneurysm. After the surgery, she is told of the procedure and that it was done just in time because the aneurysm was most likely to rupture, resulting in death. Regardless, the woman sues the hospital.
What do you think the court would decide in this situation?