In a case that could establish a legal precedent, a jury in Florida has
been asked to decide whether a woman was deprived of a right to "die with
dignity."
A nine-year-old lawsuit on behalf of Madeline Neumann charges doctors
wrongfully took measures to prolong the 92-year-old's life, violating a
living will, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
Filed by Neumann's granddaughter, Linda Scheible, the suit against Joseph
L. Morse Geriatric Center and Dr. Jaimy Bensimon is thought to be the
first of its kind to reach the trial level in Florida.
Physicians cannot always predict when it is time to act on a patient's
advance wishes to forgo life-prolonging care, but a Florida lawsuit may
foretell legal woes for doctors who don't anticipate the situation.
A family there is suing their grandmother's doctor for allegedly ignoring
her directive not to be revived. The physician sent the 92-year-old to the
hospital when hospice staff found her unresponsive in October 1995.
ADVERTISEMENT Internist Jaimy Bensimon, MD, then medical director at
Joseph L. Morse Geriatric Center, was away from the hospice and told staff
to call 911, the lawsuit states. Because there was no "do not resuscitate"
order in Madeline Neumann's chart, paramedics performed CPR and intubated
her. They took Neumann to a hospital where she was put on life-support for
three days. She died four days after being taken off support.