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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.

So, today’s tip is about a question we get very frequently, and the question is, “Can I sue a hospital ICU to treat my loved one?” So again, this is a very frequent question we get. And where does it come from? Well, it comes from hospitals and intensive care units, often trying to prematurely withdraw treatment and often against family consent, or often by trying to position it or frame it in its “in the best interest” of a patient to let them die. I have my own thoughts on it. I don’t think that it’s in the best interest of someone to die unless they really want that.

And most families say, “Well, my loved one wants everything to be done.” And there’s often even an advanced care plan. Conversations have taken place between family members and their loved ones that if they ever end up in ICU that they want everything to be done. Life is sacred as far as I’m concerned, and I can concur with families in intensive care there. And we advise them what to do. We understand intensive care inside out. We know about patients and families’ rights. We know about policies and procedures, especially around end-of-life policies and procedures in intensive care.

And on the odd occasion, if a hospital really wants to push for an illegal withdrawal of treatment, it can go to court. And we’ve certainly participated in court cases as witnesses. So, for example, what we do is we review medical records, and we extract clinical evidence from the medical records to see whether there’s medical negligence or whether there are potentially other treatment options. So yes, you can sue a hospital to treat your loved one if they are denying lifesaving treatment. That’s the short answer, and we have numerous case studies on our website to verify that.

So, that is my quick tip for today.

Now, if you have a loved one in intensive care, go to intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website, or simply send us an email to [email protected].

Also, have a look at our membership for families in intensive care at intensivecaresupport.org. There, you have access to me and my team answering questions, everything intensive care related, 24 hours a day, via email or in a membership area.

If you need a medical record review, while your loved one is in ICU, we can do that in real time or we can also review medical records after ICU, especially if you have questions after ICU as well but the best way to review medical records is in real time. And you have the right to access medical records in U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand. So, it’s a right, not a privilege. You should contact us if you have difficulties accessing medical records.

Now, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care, share the video with your friends and families, click the like button, click the notification bell, and comment below what you want to see next, or what questions and insights you have from this video.

Thanks for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I’ll talk to you in a few days.