Case Study Question:
Can you sue doctors if they put someone on life support for a week even though in the subjects living will (which the doctors do have a copy of) they stated that they do NOT want to be on any form of life support?
Would it be worth it to sue the doctors if the person in question has more physical disabilities and the doctors are talking about putting that person in a nursing home even though they have a suitable home and it would crush the person emotionally to be in a nursing home (the person is this example is only 39).
Some would say yes, especially given the DNR, others emphatically state you can sue for anything. Was the life support initiated before the doctors received a copy of the “Living will”? It’s a very difficult call when it comes to a young person, most doctors will feel obligated to render any and all healthcare to someone who is only 39, especially if they feel the person has a reasonable ability to recover. Doctors also have an obligation to provide every chance of recovery and wanted to afford the opportunity to do so.
Unless this patient entered into the hospital with a terminal disease or a trauma so severe as to prevent their survival, doctors are obliged to do everything-they are in bigger danger of lawsuits if they don’t.
My sense there are a few issues here that would be subject to litigation. Anybody can sue, but successfully is another question.