Lawsuit: Mother taken off life support without permission

WSVN ^ | February 26, 2010

[BykrBayb]

MIAMI (WSVN) -- A young mother died when, a lawsuit claims, she was taken off life support without her family's permission.

It was supposed to be a day of joy for the Francois family. Twenty-six-year-old Caroline was giving birth to her third child at a local hospital.

The baby was born fine, but the next day things went terribly wrong for the young mother. "Her blood pressure remained high and continued to remain high," said the family's attorney, Loreen Kreizinger. "As a result of her uncontrolled hypertension, she had a bleed to the brain, which happened the next day after the baby was born."

Caroline was put on life support. "It's terrible," said Kreizinger. "It's probably one of the worst things I've personally ever experienced as an attorney, and I am also a nurse."

According to the lawsuit, after Caroline was put on life support, the local hospital called the University of Miami organ donor program. An employee of the donor program went to the hospital and tried to meet with the family. "Mr. Francois never spoke with them and never gave consent," said the family's attorney.

But despite that, the lawsuit against the University of Miami claims that same employee, who is not a medical doctor wrote physician's orders in Caroline's chart which read: "Patient pronounced brain dead at 16:16 hours," and, "Please discontinue all treatments including the ventilator."

"We have evidence that he physically entered the room and actually turned off the ventilator," said the lawyer.

Court testimony supports that shocking allegation. Caroline's respiratory therapist was asked in a deposition, "Who physically took Caroline off the ventilator?" The therapist replied, "That's a gentleman from organ procurement."

In Caroline's chart, her nurse wrote the employee from UM "turned off vent," referring to the ventilator.

No one is saying why this employee might have pulled the plug, but Caroline's doctor is very clear. In testimony, her doctor was asked, "Did you yourself at anytime make an assessment that Caroline was brain dead?" The answer: "No."

"We have evidence that Caroline began to breathe on her own, both by a computerized respiratory printout and by handwritten notes of the respiratory therapist," said Kreizinger.

Asked if she was implying that Caroline was breathing on her own and still taken off life support, the family's attorney replied, "That's right. That's what we're saying here."

The University of Miami denies the allegations in the lawsuit, saying, "This defendant specifically denies that it, or anyone for whom it could be held legally responsible, caused or contributed to Caroline Francois's death."

"It certainly is the University of Miami's position that there were four determinations of brain death prior to disconnection from ventilator," said University of Miami attorney Helenemarie Blake. "There is an issue of fact as to who disconnected the ventilator, if at all."

In court Thursday, University of Miami attorneys tried to get the judge to strike Caroline's nurse from the witness list. That nurse allegedly witnessed who turned off the ventilator. The attorneys say they have not been able to locate that nurse to depose him. The judge has denied that request.

[JouleZ]

“It’s time for everyone to remove themselves from any organ donation...”

_______________________________

Interestingly, I read that a coroner can retrieve the corneas in some states, when performing an autopsy and without consent. Eerie!

[Eva]

My mother was in the Methodist home in Pitman NJ, when I got a call from an emergency room doctor, telling me that my mother had had a brain stem stroke and would not recover. He was asking for permission to put her on a morphine drip and remove the ventilator. He had already tried my brother and sister who live nearby and all he could get a hold of was my sister’s twelve year old son, who refused to take responsibility. I told him no, not until I get there and see her condition for myself. I told him that her living will says that she must be kept of the ventilator for two weeks before disconnecting. He said it didn’t matter what she put in the will and that I should consider the quality of life.

So, I got on a plane and got there the next day. What I found was entirely different from what the doctor described. My mother was not in a coma, only drugged. She responded as soon as I told her that I was there, but she did not open her eyes right away. She just sort of spasmed and wiggled her toes, because she was completely restrained. She also had bruises up down both arms. I asked the nurse what the cause of bruises was and she told me that my mother had been fighting her and trying to pull out the ventilator tube. This is a woman who was supposed to be brain dead, and she was fighting the nurse.

When I went back the next day, my mother was out of intensive care and on the regular floor. It turned out that she had not had any kind of stroke, that she had simply fallen. When I asked about the phone call from the doctor, the nurse said that my mother would not have died anyway because she didn’t need the ventilator, that she was breathing just fine on her own.

[BykrBayb]

Her doctor said she wasn’t brain dead.

[Melas]

Then I guess she wasn’t exactly breathing on her own.

[BykrBayb]

When I asked about the phone call from the doctor, the nurse said that my mother would not have died anyway because she didn’t need the ventilator, that she was breathing just fine on her own.

Did anyone at that hospital have a clue? It sounds like none of them knew anything about medicine, and none of them had a clue about the value of life. Your mother was very fortunate to have you looking out for her.

[Lmo56]

Yes it is murder. This is the scary new world we live in.

MORTICIAN: Bring out your dead!

Bring out your dead!

[clang] Bring out your dead!

[clang] Bring out your dead!

[clang] Bring out your dead!

[clang] Bring out your dead!

CUSTOMER: Here's one -- nine pence.

DEAD PERSON: I'm not dead!

MORTICIAN: What?

CUSTOMER: Nothing -- here's your nine pence.

DEAD PERSON: I'm not dead!

MORTICIAN: Here -- he says he's not dead!

CUSTOMER: Yes, he is.

DEAD PERSON: I'm not!

MORTICIAN: He isn't.

CUSTOMER: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.

DEAD PERSON: I'm getting better!

CUSTOMER: No, you're not -- you'll be stone dead in a moment.

MORTICIAN: Oh, I can't take him like that -- it's against regulations.

DEAD PERSON: I don't want to go on the cart!

CUSTOMER: Oh, don't be such a baby.

MORTICIAN: I can't take him...

DEAD PERSON: I feel fine!

CUSTOMER: Oh, do us a favor...

MORTICIAN: I can't.

CUSTOMER: Well, can you hang around a couple of minutes? He won't be long.

MORTICIAN: Naaah, I got to go on to Robinson's -- they've lost nine today.

CUSTOMER: Well, when is your next round?

MORTICIAN: Thursday.

DEAD PERSON: I think I'll go for a walk.

CUSTOMER: You're not fooling anyone y'know. Look, isn't there something you can do?

DEAD PERSON: I feel happy... I feel happy.

[whop - with a club]

CUSTOMER: Ah, thanks very much.

MORTICIAN: Not at all. See you on Thursday.

CUSTOMER: Right...

[BykrBayb]

What is your point? The woman was murdered. There is no way to justify that. She couldn’t have been breathing to well or too poorly to deserve to live. Murder is wrong, even when it’s someone whose life you don’t personally value, for whatever reason. Murder is wrong, period.

[MarMema]

see if you can manage to read this one

[HiTech RedNeck]

Greering at the speed of sound.

[BykrBayb]

OMG, I read the first paragraph. I can see I’m going to need to take a few breaks while reading that horror story. Is there a thread about here?

[HiTech RedNeck]

so does hell, BRO

[BykrBayb]

Maybe when we’re greering at the speed of light somebody will do something. Maybe.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Not exactly the kind of Method that John Wesley had in mind.

[Judith Anne]

Putting your mother on a “morphine drip” could very well have depressed her respirations enough to cause brain damage from anoxia, and death.

I’d try very hard to get that doctor’s name, actually.

[linn37]

Is that what the court has decided? That this poor woman has been murdered? The article didn’t mention that part.

[BykrBayb]

What about this do you find justifiable? Is it okay to kill somebody as long as you have the opportunity?

[Eva]

It wasn’t the home, it was the hospital, JFK in Cherry Hill, NJ. The methodist homes are excellent, couldn’t recommend them any higher, wonderful, loving care.

[BykrBayb]

I expect their argument will be that this never happened.

Did I mention that I have ESP?

[Judith Anne]

For some reason, I can’t get that file to open on my computer. Is there any other way to get it?

[linn37]

I let the court decide who was at fault instead of just labeling folks murderers. Don’t let that stop you from carrying on though.