Wrongful Living – Noncompliance with Advance Directives

Fredrick E. Vars and Alberto Lopez at the University of Alabama School of Law have posted a copy of their article forthcoming in the Iowa Law Review: "Wrongful Living." "Executing an advance directive that specifies a patient’s wishes regarding end-of-life medical care is an exercise of self-determination – a conscious choice about the degree and type of medical intervention one wishes to receive under end-of-life circumstances." "Empirical studies, however, consistently report that healthcare professionals fail to comply with advance directives; violations of a patient’s interest in self-determination are alarmingly common. From a practical perspective, the conduct of either patients or healthcare professionals may make an advance directive unavailable, which results in noncompliance. Legally, courts have historically rejected claims for “wrongful living” associated with the prolongation of life that results from unwanted medical intervention. As a result, healthcare professionals fear the liability threatened by a wrongful death claim more than the legal exposure risked by keeping an individual alive despite a contrary mandate in an advance directive." "In response to practical concerns regarding availability, this paper proposes the creation of a nationwide registry of advance directives and argues that sanctions for violations of professional responsibility as well as the risk of liability for legal malpractice encourage utilization of t...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs