Patient instructs doctor to “Do Not Resuscitate.” Patient crashes in front of the family members. A nurse’s assistant begins CPR. Another nurse comes into the room to help and notices the DNR notation in the chart. CPR stops. The son says “Save Mom.” I have a healthcare power of attorney, as Mom’s attorney in fact I am directing you to continue CPR. The nurses stop CPR -- Mom dies. Son sues.
Common sense says that the nurses should have continued performing CPR if they possessed actual knowledge that son in fact held a durable healthcare power of attorney for Mom. A wrongful life case is always easier to defend than a wrongful death case. But they did not, and Mom died.
In Tennessee, the Court of Appeals says that this is really a “medical malpractice” lawsuit. So, the family possesses the same obligations of expert proof and other hurdles that apply to every other medical malpractice lawsuit. Because the family failed to present expert proof on the issue of causation – would Mom have lived if CPR had been performed -- the court dismissed the case.
The unanswered question -- can the holder of a healthcare power of attorney overrule the patient’s own wishes. Although the court of appeals did not address that issue, it appears that the answer is No.
THE MORAL OF THIS STORY: If you give someone a healthcare power of attorney, make sure that the person understands what you want. It will save a lot of trauma for everyone.
Wheelock v. Doers, E2009-01968-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 14, 2010)
do not give DNR blindly, I had a situation with my mother, health professionals loved to have dnr asap so they can relax. Also it does not look bad on them if the patient dies. We withhold dnr and she lived year and half longer.
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