Over the last several days our firm received several calls from prospective clients regarding medical negligence claims. In each case the person who called us was a spouse or significant other, or adult child of someone they believed was the victim of medical negligence. In each case, the spouse was having difficulty making decisions for their loved one, or difficulty accessing medical records.
The ages of these callers ranged from 20 years old to over 80. What each of these callers had in common was that their loved one had not prepared a Healthcare Power of Attorney or Advanced Healthcare Directive. The lack of these important legal documents was making their ability to obtain information and make decisions about their loved one’s care problematic.
In general, an Advanced Healthcare Directive is written instructions about your future medical care in the event you are unable to express your medical wishes, and a Health Care Power of Attorney is a document that allows an individual you designate to act as your healthcare agent and make health care decision for you.
In Washington, virtually every healthcare provider will offer patients an Advanced Directive and/or Healthcare Power of Attorney form. Indeed, forms can be found online on many Hospital’s web pages. For example see the following links:
(https://www.wsma.org/advance-directives)
(http://www.swedish.org/patient-visitor-info/patient-information/preparing-for-your-hospital-stay/advance-directives)
While it is convenient for healthcare providers to have such forms for patients, ideally a Healthcare Power of Attorney and Advanced Healthcare Directive should be completed before it is needed outside the healthcare setting. While the prospect of harm occurring to a loved one is not a comfortable topic, it is much easier to address these issues before a medical emergency exists.
If you or your loved one is the victim of medical negligence, having the right person able to make healthcare decisions and access medical records is very important. A small investment of time can ensure that your wishes are followed should the unthinkable happen.
The time and effort to create these important documents can be minimal. If you are comfortable reading simple legal documents, then all you need to do is download, fill out and sign the form. If you have questions or need additional help, there are many capable estate-planning attorneys throughout this state who can assist with the preparation of these documents for a small fee.
Hopefully you and your loved ones will never need these documents. However, having an Advanced Healthcare Directive and/or Healthcare Power of Attorney and not needing them is much better than not having these documents and needing them.
