Living Will Case Leads To Mistrial: Cause Is Death
The living will case, in which a doctor, Jr. Jaimy Bensimon and a nursing home facility are being sued by the family who say that workers at Joseph L. Morse Geriatric Center in Palm Beach ignored their mother’s DNR request—resulting in her lengthy death process—ended in a mistrial when the mother of the doctor being sued died suddenly.
The woman who wrote the living will, Madeline Neumann, was 92-years-old when she died in 1995. In her living will, she requested that she not be resuscitated if there was no chance that she would recover. The attorney for Neumann’s children claims that if a nurse had written DNR on the elderly woman’s medical chart, paramedics would not have attempted to revive her. She died six days later at Columbia Hospital. The trial will likely resume in 2007. Bensimon is the medical director of the Palm Beach facility.
In California, a living will is also known as an Advance Health Care Directive. The living will allows you state whether or not you wish to refuse or accept life-sustaining treatment should you ever become incapacitated. You can use the will to inform doctors and loved ones about any health care treatment you would like in the event that you become unable to express your wishes when the time comes. You can also appoint someone, who will be known as your health care agent, to make sure that your wishes are carried out.
Your living will should be witnessed by at least two people, and some states require that you have your living will notarized. It is a good idea to give copies of your living will to your medical providers, loved ones, and health care agent.
Yahoo Health offers the following thoughts to consider when drafting your living will:
· You can change or revoke your living will at any time. Review your living will regularly. Many people find that their wishes about medical treatment change over time, even in a few months, as their health changes. You may change the forms to address your specific wishes. If you make significant changes to your living will, complete a new document.
· Your living will is only used if you can no longer make or communicate decisions for yourself. Normally, one or more doctors must certify that you lack capacity before your living will takes effect.
· If you become able to speak for yourself again, you can accept or refuse any treatment, no matter what you said in your living will.
· Some states may limit your right to refuse treatment in certain situations, and you may want to address these situations specifically in your living will.
Be specific when you complete your living will, but avoid being overly specific. Too much detail may limit your health care agent's ability to make decisions as your situation evolves; yet, providing too few details may not give your agent and family enough guidance regarding a specific situation. Be sure to talk with your agent about your beliefs and wishes.
· Although you cannot plan for every possible situation that may arise, some treatments are commonly used in end-of-life situations. These include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), ventilators, and artificial nutrition (feeding tubes) and fluids.
· Some types of health problems tend to be more common at the end of life, such as irreversible brain damage or a form of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease.
· In your living will, include some general information about whether you would want to have certain treatments or to have your life prolonged in certain situations. Talk these situations over with your health care agent, your family, and your doctor.
· If you have a chronic illness, talk with your doctor about what is likely to happen, what kinds of treatments you may receive, and how you feel about those treatments. Talk to your agent about your wishes based on these discussions.
Sagaria Law, P.C. can help you draft your living will. Our family law practice represents clients throughout Santa Clara County, Monterey County, and Alameda County. For a free, no obligation consultation, contact Sagaria Law, P.C. today.
Death Forces Mistrial In Living Will Case, Palm Beach Post.com, November 14, 2006
Living Will, Yahoohealth.com
Your Living Will, California Medical Association
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