@rachel, I do not believe a guardians medical decision counts as a verbal agreement as the doctor/hospital is seeking consent to perform an emergency procedure rather than exchange goods. in the case that the procedure is not an emergency, a written informed consent form is signed. How i do agree with you and many others who have mentioned already, verbal agreements, while legal binding, are risky as one party can deny the existence of the agreement, making it more difficult to enforce than a written agreement. written agreements are especially important when considering things such as confidentiality as the specifics of what information can be plainly stated for future recollection in the case of legal mitigation.