Delaware Court Refuses to Override Patient Advance Directive

J.L.S. was an 86-year-old individual residing at a hospital facility. The Delaware Chancery Court denied J.L.S.’s guardian’s petition to change his code status based on J.L.S.'s deteriorating condition. 

The physicians’ testimony regarding prognosis, tracheostomy, PEG placement, and likely outcomes underscored the gravity of the medical circumstances. But the Court held that the neither a guardian nor the court can disregard valid health-care instructions solely because of a worsened prognosis. 

The Emergency Petition sought authority for the Guardian to direct withdrawal of mechanical ventilation and to direct that J.L.S. not be reintubated in the event he could not breathe independently. But that relief would have required the court to authorize an action inconsistent with J.L.S.’s recorded full code instruction.