Court Opinion

ID: 9623275
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:30:49.935054+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:27.937548
License: Public Domain

Beasley, Chief Judge,
concurring specially.
I agree with the majority because Dr. Velez had no right to discontinue treatment without the parents’ consent. The obligation is enunciated by the Georgia Supreme Court in In re L. H. R., 253 Ga. 439 (321 SE2d 716) (1984), which recognized a duty. Following that decision, the legislature delineated certain rights and obligations with respect to the question of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, in OCGA § 31-39-1 et seq. See In re Jane Doe, 262 Ga. 389, 391 (2) (418 SE2d 3) (1992).
Since the constitutional right to refuse belonged to the child, and had to be exercised by her surrogates (her parents) following the diagnosis and prognosis not only of the attending physician but also that of another, disinterested, physician, OCGA § 31-39-2, discontinuance without consent could be either an intentional or a negligent act, depending on the facts found by the jury. In either event, it would be an “unlawful violation of a private legal right,” OCGA § 51-1-1. The law always seeks to give a remedy if a legal right has been violated. See Ga. Law of Damages (4th ed.), §§ 1-1,1-4. If the failure to get consent carries no legal liability, then the protective scheme created in In re L. H. R., supra at 446, and refined by the statute is unenforceable.
The fact that there may be little or no actual damages does not govern whether there is a compensable tort. Nominal damages would be sufficient. See measure of damages, OCGA § 51-12-4. Bradley v. Godwin, 152 Ga. App. 782, 784 (3) (264 SE2d 262) (1979).
In my opinion, the wrongful death statute includes the wrongful hastening of death, and there is some evidence that the infant’s earlier death was caused by Dr. Velez. The record does not preclude a finding that his actions caused the death to be sooner rather than later, and that before he took these actions he did not get the consent of the surrogates of the person whose life was thereby terminated.