California Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

The granddaughter of Madeline Neumann, a 92-year-old woman who had specifically requested in her living will and advanced directive that she not be placed on life-prolonging devices at the end of her life, is suing one of her grandmother’s doctors and the nursing home where Neumann had been living. There has already been a mistrial in this case.

In her civil lawsuit, Linda Schieble is seeking unspecified damages from Dr. Jaimy Bensimon and the Morse Geriatric Center staff in a civil lawsuit in which she cites breach of contract, negligence, and battery.

In a Florida courtroom earlier this week, Dr. Bruce Berman, a witness, testified that what happened to Neumann was “assault, plain and simple” when she was kept on life support for six days despite her wishes after she was found unresponsive on October 17, 1995. (Bensimon told paramedics to take her to the hospital where she was intubated and hooked up to life support machinery until she died.)

Berman also said that when reviewing the deceased woman’s files, he discovered that many of Bensimon’s actions did not adhere to the “generally accepted standard of care.” Berman also said that Bensimon should have asked Neumann (she suffered from Alzheimer’s and had a seizure disorder) to file a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order and he should not have ordered nurses to call 911 because of what Neumann had stipulated in her living will about her end of life care.

Continue reading "Trial Continues In Case Involving Woman Whose Living Will Was Not Followed By Her Doctor And Nursing Home Staff" »

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.

Continue reading "Living Will Case Leads To Mistrial: Cause Is Death" »

A new survey released by the California Healthcare Foundation on Wednesday says that 70% of Californians do not put their end-of-life wishes in writing. The survey is part of the Foundation’s efforts to improve end-of-life care in the state.

According to Mark Smith, president and CEO of the CHCF, “California has been a leader in end-of-life issues, including living wills, hospice care, pain management, and physician education for the past 30 years.”

Among the survey results:
· Eighty-three percent of those surveyed said “having their end-of-life wishes in writing is very or somewhat important.” However, only 36 percent actually said they had their wishes in writing in the form of an advance directive or living will.

· Only about half of those surveyed (51 percent) have talked with their loved-ones about such end-of-life issues as whether they would want to be kept alive on life support. Moreover, nearly a quarter (22 percent) of these conversations were just casual conversations or remarks made in passing.

Continue reading "California Healthcare Foundation Says Most Californians Don’t Plan For End-Of-Life Care" »