Yorkshire: Judge allows man in vegetative state to die

A builder who was left in a vegetative state after a heart attack can be allowed to die despite it going against his family's wishes, a judge has ruled.

The man, in his 50s, from Yorkshire, had not regained consciousness since his heart attack in September 2021.

Doctors at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust in Wakefield told the Court of Protection he had severe brain damage and life support should end.

The man's family had asked Mrs Justice Arbuthnot to give him "more time".

His wife and children said they hoped his condition would improve and said, as a Muslim, he would want God to decide when he died.

The NHS trust had asked the Court of Protection, which hears cases involving people who lack the mental capacity for make decisions for themselves, to rule on the patient's best interests.

Doctors treating the man, who cannot be identified, told a hearing he had suffered severe brain damage when his brain was starved of oxygen for at least 18 minutes.

Mrs Justice Arbuthnot, sitting in London, said evidence showed the man was in a "permanent vegetative state" and would always need 24-hour care in a specialist facility.

The judge said on Friday there "was no evidence he enjoys his current life" and it was hard to see how he had any "dignity".

She added: "All of the evidence is that he has no awareness of where he is, or who he is, or who is with him.

"The greatest sadness is that he will never recognise his family again."

Mrs Justice Arbuthnot ruled that ending life support treatment was in the man's best interests and would be lawful.

Barrister Ben McCormack, representing the man's relatives, told the judge they would consider an appeal.

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