According to a study by the Coma Science Group of the University of Liège, Belgium, up to half the patients in an acute vegetative state regain some level of consciousness. Results of the study are also consistent with previous studies showing that at least 40% of patients deemed to be in a persistent vegetative state are misdiagnosed. “The study showed how very hard it is to disentangle the minimally conscious state from the vegetative state,” says Dr. Steven Laureys. And in cases that health workers diagnosed as minimally conscious, 10% were actually communicating functionally.
Comparing past studies on this issue shows that the level of misdiagnosis has not decreased in the past 15 years.
Persistent vegetative state misdiagnosed 40% of time; patient slated for Schiavo-style death awakens
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Well, medically it may be difficult. On a personal level, it's just a question of how much money you can steal by snuffing the patient. Sometimes you can pay lawyers half a million dollars to diagnose PVS and still come out ahead.