http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...se-questions-answers-20140106,0,6567373.story
Do families have rights to determine when a hospital unplugs the ventilator in cases of brain death?
No, only to a brief period of accommodation. California Health and Safety Code Section 1254.4 states: “A general acute care hospital shall adopt a policy for providing family or next of kin with a reasonably brief period of accommodation…from the time that a patient is declared dead by reason of irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, in accordance with Section 7180, through discontinuation of cardiopulmonary support for the patient. During this reasonably brief period of accommodation, a hospital is required to continue only previously ordered cardiopulmonary support. No other medical intervention is required.”
The statute defines a “reasonably brief period” as “an amount of time afforded to gather family or next of kin at the patient's bedside.”
Did the Jahi McMath case change case law in this case or is it likely to do so?
No.
When was Jahi McMath declared dead?
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau was notified by Children’s Hospital Oakland of Jahi’s death on Dec. 12. The Coroner’s Bureau issued a death certificate Friday, Jan. 3.
What about an autopsy?
Jahi McMath’s death is the type of case that falls under the jurisdiction of the coroner’s bureau. However, by statute the coroner has discretion to determine the level of inquiry to be conducted. Since the body has been released to the family it is possible that there will be no autopsy.
Can maintenance of cardiopulmonary functions by a ventilator affect the ability to determine cause of death during an autopsy?
It can. But that depends on the cause of death. The ventilator can cause changes in the body that in some cases can make cause of death difficult to determine.
