Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/425225
14 By steve morales W hen doctors at Toronto's Sunnybrook hospital overruled a daughter's wishes and imposed a do-not-resuscitate order on her father, they veered into murky legal territory. Nicholas DeGuerre died on Sept. 22, 2008, the same day doctors issued a DNR order without consent from his daughter, Joy Wawrzyniak. Physicians refused to intervene even as she pleaded for help during his fatal cardiac arrest. Lawyer Barry Swadron, whose firm represents Wawrzyniak in a suit against the hospital, says Canadians are often at a disadvantage when clashing with doctors over such critical decisions. "The public are not aware that they enjoy rights against a DNR order where there's a dispute between a doctor and the patient's family," adds the founder of Toronto firm Swadron Associates. He says some doctors tend to overstep their authority and make these unilateral choices, "notwithstanding the position taken by the family or the substitute decision-maker." Part of the problem is an overall lack of clarity surrounding the laws and the sometimes-competing interests and beliefs of doctors and patients. Many Canadians are unaware of their rights pertaining to DNR orders and other critical healthcare situations. DNRs, the directive to refuse emergency lifesaving medical the substitute decision-maker has a right to dispute what the doctors have decided and there is a quick resolution vehicle or mechanism to overcome that. — Barry Swadron ' ' ' ' WHO HAS THE FINAL SAY ON dnRs WHO HAS THE FINAL SAY ON dnRs hEaLTh Law