R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-19-32: Informed consent a preliminary question.

In actions against physicians as defined in § 5-37-1, hospitals, clinics, health maintenance organizations, or professional service corporations providing health care services and organized under chapter 5.1 of title 7 for malpractice in providing treatment to patients, issues of informed consent or reasonable disclosure of all known material risks shall be initially considered by the court as preliminary questions of fact. Such issues shall be submitted to the jury by the court only in the event that it finds, after weighing the evidence and considering the credibility of the witnesses, that reasonable minds might fairly come to different conclusions in respect to such issues on the basis of the evidence presented and inferences to be drawn therefrom.