Reference no: EM133329478

Question: You are the Administrator-in-Charge of a busy NYC hospital Emergency Department. Dr. Ortiz is one of three Attending doctors staffing your Department on the current shift, she comes to you for guidance in how to proceed with her most recent patient.

The patient is a 14 year-old who, lives with his parents, and has just sustained a traumatic injury to his arm, as a result of a car accident in which the boy was not wearing a seatbelt. In Dr. Ortiz's opinion the boy's arm requires immediate surgery and amputation of the limb below the elbow, an orthopedic resident has evaluated the patient and agrees. If surgery is delayed it is likely that gangrene will set in and ultimately more radical surgery will be necessary or the patient may die.

The problem is that the patient's parents have just taken off from JFK Airport on a flight to Tokyo and because of communication problems are unreachable for the duration of the 20 hour flight and thus cannot consent to the surgery. Dr. Ortiz says that the surgery cannot be delayed that long.

Assuming that all of the above is accurate and correct, and that you are not able to contact the parents or any other relative, what do you tell Dr. Ortiz? How should Dr. Ortiz proceed? Should the surgery be delayed while waiting for the parents to land in Tokyo?

Please fully explain the basis for your answer and cite any case law that supports your position.