Health Care Proxies

Many people choose to designate a health care proxy to ensure that their medical care wishes are observed in the event that they enter a state where they are no longer capable of making their own medical decisions (ie. comatose).

When a person designates someone as his or her health care proxy, he or she is entrusting this secondary person to make all necessary medical decisions on his or her behalf. This can include:

• What types of medication the patient can receive
• What procedures to perform
• Placement or removal of a feeding tube
• Performance of life-saving measures

Anyone over the age of 18 is legally able to be a health care proxy. It is usually advised that an individual choose someone close to him or herself so that can ensure that the proxy is fully aware and informed of his or her medical wishes.

In some cases the primary individual may fill out a proxy form where his or her wishes are explicitly stated. In these instances, the designated medical proxy will not be able to advise any treatment that differs from the wishes expressed on the proxy form. However, in the absence of a proxy form, a health care proxy will be able to make any decisions necessary for a patient in according with what he or she understands to be the patient’s wishes.

If you are interested in designating a medical proxy, make sure that the person you choose is fully aware of your wishes and committed to carrying them out if you can no longer make decisions for yourself.

Contact Us

If a medical worker has violated the advanced directives specified by you or a loved one, contact Cincinnati personal injury attorney Shawn M. Stepleton today at 513-321-7733.