Significant Court Cases Flashcards
Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cordozo
Every human being of adult years and sound mind has right to determine what happens to themselves
Barber vs. Superior Court (1983)
Severely brain damaged patient with poor prognosis was removed from ventilator with agreement from family and physicians. Physicians had no duty to continue to provide life sustaining treatment in light of prognosis and surrogates agreement that he would prefer not to be so sustained
Baby Doe law (1985)
Down syndrome baby whose parents declined surgery to fix esophageal atresia, leading to death. Mandates state develop procedures to report medical neglect. Assessment of childs quality of life are not valid reasons for withholding medical care
Messenger Case (1995)
Michael Messenger (21 weeks old) delivered by C section. Neonatologist ordered baby to be put on ventilator & examined to determine his prognosis Neonatologist cited Baby Doe defense Michael’s dad: dermatologist, disconnected ventilator bc he “did not want son to be an experiment, sprouting tubes & barely alive.” Cause of death: condition of Michael’s lungs due to prematurity, not his father’s actions. Father charged w manslaughter & acquitted
Linares Case (1988)
8 mo Samuel Linares swallowed a balloon, no vital signs for 20 min, intubated & admitted to PICU with severe brain damage Parents asked that ventilator be removed after several months → hospital attorney: there was no precdent 8 months of hospital refusal → parents seeked court order → hospital announced that they were transferring Sam to a long-term care facility → Mr. Linares entered PICU w a pistol, held caretakers at bay, unplugged child’s respiratory & held him while he dies. Charged with murder, but charge was dismissed.
Hurley vs. Eddingfield (1901)
Patient is dangerously ill. Doctor was only doctor in the county, but having dinner with family so he refused to help. Patient died. He had no duty to treat because no patient relationship existed. Physician must agree to treat for there to be physician relationship.
Adams vs. Via Christi Regional Medical Center (2001)
Pregnant daughter was experiencing abdominal pain. Mom called doctor and gave advice. Patient died due to bad advice. Court found that doctor was at fault because he listened and gave medical opinion. This conduct creates treatment relationship
Lyons v. Grether, Virginia 1977
Magnolia Lyons has a scheduled appt with Dr. Grether accompanied by her young son & her guide dog. She is blind. Grether asked her to remove dog from waiting area. Concerned about dog’s welfase, she refuses. Is ejected from waiting area. Pt alleged Dr. Grether’s wrongful conduct caused inordinate pain & suffering & sued for damages resulting from refusal to treat. Complaint is abandonment: “wrongful termination.” Found physician liable bc his office made & confirmed appt with her. Detrimental reliance: promise was made, could reasonably be counted on, but was not delivered.
Tarasoff vs. University of California (1974)
Man said he was going to kill his girlfriend to his doctor. Doctor did nothing. Girl was killed. Confidentiality yields to extent where disclosure is essential to avert danger to others. Protective privilege ends where public peril begins
Payton v. Weaver, 1979
Dialysis pt, drugs & alcohol, doesn’t follow rules, antisocial Dr. Weaver: sends notice to terminate treatment relationship in Dec 1978, April 1979 & March 1980.
“Unilateral physician withdrawal” is permitted with sufficient notice. Sufficient notice = amount of time required for pt to get another provider. Otherwise, it’s tortuous abandonment (purposeful, deliberate decision for non-medical reason). Physicians may not abandon.
NJ: “notify pt, in writing, no less than 30 days prior to date on which care is to be terminated, and shall be made by certified mail.”
Mohr v. Williams (1905)
Pt sees surgeon for middle ear pain R ear shows problems, L ear not available for examination Consent for surgery on R ear; during surgery, L ear is worse so surgery on L ear
Mary E. Schloendorff v. The Society of the New York Hospital, April 1914
Pt refused surgery, but consented to examination under anesthesia Doctors performed surgery during exam, infection spread, and she lost some of her L hand due to gangrene MEDICAL BATTERY “…a surgeon who performs an operation without his patient’s consent commits an assault for which he is liable for damages.”
Salgo v. Leland Stanford Jr. University Board of Trustees (1957)
Informed consent first appeared
Natanson v. Kline (1960)
Standard of disclosure - reasonable practitioner “… each man is considered to be master of his own body, and he may, if he be of sound mind, expressly prohibit the performance of life-saving surgery, or other medical treatment.”- Justice Schroeder
Canterbury v. Spence (1972)
Laminectomy to repair a ruptured disc. During recovery, he fell out of bed and became paralyzed.
Sued for incomplete information prior to surgery. Standard of disclosure - physician cannot used therapeutic privilege to justify withholding information. Reasonable patient standard