Failure by Montana Hospital to Follow Patient’s “Do Not Resuscitate or Intubate” Order Results in Jury Award of Over $400K
After a Montana hospital was sued, a jury recently awarded $209,100.29 in damages for medical care due to resuscitation and $200,000 for mental and physical pain and suffering to the estate of a patient who was resuscitated on two separate occasions in violation of his “do not resuscitate or intubate” order.
A bracelet was placed on the man’s wrist indicating that he did not want to be resuscitated or intubated when he was admitted into the hospital in 2016 for medical treatment. Later, he was found unresponsive in his room, and staff members performed CPR against his wishes, successfully resuscitating him.
When his wife was called to the hospital, she believed that he had died. A few minutes later, she received a call seeking to confirm her husband’s advance directive to not be resuscitated. That call was followed by another call from hospital officials informing her that medical providers had forgotten about his wishes and had resuscitated the man.
A week later, the man was again found in his room unresponsive, and this time staff resuscitated him with ventilation and medication.
After the man died in 2018, his estate filed a lawsuit against the hospital for violating his desire to not be resuscitated or intubated.
The lawyer for the man’s estate made this comment about the jury’s verdict: “The jury certainly showed that the systemic failure of the hospital was significant. They violated his right to dignity, the right to choose medical care, and the right to decide what treatment he wanted or didn’t want.”
Risk Assessment Perspective
Failure by a healthcare provider to follow the directives of residents or their legal representatives “not to be resuscitated or intubated” that have been filed and entered appropriately into the patients/residents’ medical records may result in lawsuits and the awarding of damages by a jury or through a settlement agreement.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures to ensure that advance directives made by residents or their legal representatives are not violated.
- Train staff regarding compliance with the protocols for responding to residents who are nonresponsive and who have made and properly executed directives to “not be resuscitated or intubated.”
- Periodically audit residents’ advance directives to ensure that they are in place and that staff members on all shifts are especially alert to residents with “do not resuscitate or intubate” orders.
