Can ER doctors make life choices for me?

From Carolyn Rosenblatt, R.N., B.S.N., Attorney When you arrive at the emergency room unconscious, and there is no one to give consent to a procedure, the doctors must do what See also:
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See all 119 questions about Conservatorship/Guardianship they can to save your life. It is presumed, legally, that you would want what is best for you if you were able to give consent. When you can't the doctor uses his or her own judgment in place of yours, to treat your emergency condition. Even if an ethics committee exists, there is no time to have a committee meeting when there is a pending emergency condition. It is legally appropriate and ethical for the doctor to do what is thought to be safest for you. If you have a healthcare directive (also called "power of attorney for health care or medical", your own doctor should have a copy. However, even with that, your own doctor may not be the one who first sees you in the emergency room. When you arrive at the emergency room unconscious, and there is no one to give consent to a procedure, the doctors must do what they can to save your life. It is presumed, legally, that you would want what is best for you if you were able to give consent. When you can't the doctor uses his or her own judgment in place of yours, to treat your emergency condition. Even if an ethics committee exists, there is no time to have a committee meeting when there is a pending emergency condition. It is legally appropriate and ethical for the doctor to do what is thought to be safest for you. If you have a healthcare directive (also called "power of attorney for health care or medical", your own doctor should have a copy. However, even with that, your own doctor may not be the one who first sees you in the emergency room.

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