More Lawsuits for Unwanted Medical Treatment (Jamie Sams)

In several articles, I have suggested a trend toward courts permitting civil remedies when clinicians resuscitate patients contrary to their known wishes.

Continuing this trend, author Jamie Sams has filed a lawsuit against Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, NM, alleging that the hospital and one of its physicians violated her DNR directive.

Clinicians administered Dilaudid despite the fact that Ms. Sams had advised ER staff that she was allergic to this medication. Ms. Sams experienced an allergic reaction which caused her to go into cardiac arrest. She was later revived by ER staff despite signing a "double DNR" form.

Ms. Sams alleges that "as a result of being revived, she continues to experience severe pain, disability and limitations and further, will incur extensive expenses throughout the remainder of her life."