Is this a crime I can report? Could I report him for medical neglect?
I don’t know anything about your grandmother’s situation or the decision your father made. You didn’t explain. I’m just offering a contrasting point of view. Don’t read this if you think my talking about letting people die might upset you.
Death and Dying in the US
The US spends billions every year keeping very elderly people alive who have a terrible quality of life and no expectation of getting any better.
And many families insist on medical intervention for their elder members despite every doctor telling them it won’t improve their quality of life. I’m talking about elderly people who aren’t even conscious. What for exactly? What is the point of keeping your 98 year old, unresponsive grandmother alive for 1 more month?
Let people die. It’s part of life.
I was visiting someone in the hospital years ago and there was another very old man in the same room. He spoke to the nurse and said he wanted to die. He was a tiny old man who probably didn’t even have the strength to turn over in bed. He could barely even speak. The nurse merely said reassuring things like “Don’t you have family who love you?” To which he replied “No”. Plus a couple more such questions and statements.
It was so sad I wanted to cry. Not because he didn’t have any family around, but because the hospital was keeping this man alive despite his wishes. Could he flat out refuse all care? Maybe. If he had the energy to fight them. He could even refuse food. Until he fell unconscious that is, and then the hospital would keep him alive against his previous wishes with IV food and medicine. It’s OK because Medicare was probably paying for his care. The hospital has a perverse incentive to keep him alive as long as possible.
Why can’t he just choose to die with what tiny shred of dignity he still has? Because the US is a messed up place with a terrible sense of what end-of-life care should be and puritanical laws against assisted dying.
Again, I don’t know what your grandmas quality of life was, so maybe none of this was applicable to you. But maybe it is. It’s something I feel very strongly about, so I felt I should say something.
Declining care would not be illegal in the US. You didn’t specify where they live, so I can only give that.
For a person not the patient to decline care, that means care was offered or suggested by a doctor or other provider.
When a patient is unable to make their own medical decisions, that task falls to someone with the ability to make that decision legally. Exactly who gets that task varies by location, but if the patient has a healthcare power of attorney, they can name whoever they want. Otherwise, it tends to end up being a family member, and the children of the patient are going to be the first ones in line.
Neglect would require that the person acting on behalf of the patient did not seek medical opinion when doing so would be indicated. As an example, if the patient falls and breaks a hip, that requires treatment, so would possibly be neglect if their guardian/poa/conservator/other did not act accordingly.
But, once in the hospital, that same person could choose to decline care of pretty much any care, though a doctor or hospital has recourse if they feel the decision is outside of reason. Typically, for something acute like a broken hip, you get the hip fixed because there’s not a good reason not to.
But something like chemo for terminal cancer, or refusing extreme care in the case of other terminal events, that’s almost always going to be in the hands of whoever has the authority to make the decision, and would not be a crime.
There’s a lot of vagueness to this because criminal neglect is a case specific thing.
You didn’t provide much to go on, but the child of a person making a medical decision about end of life care is normal. But that assumes the person can’t make their own decisions for whatever reason.
Edit: this stuff can vary from state to state in the US, but it doesn’t vary so much as to be a complete difference.
Just to follow, in cases where the patient is not expected to regain consciousness it’s even possible to ethically withhold food and water to hasten passing. The decision maker has very wide latitude in deciding what is an appropriate level of care. A living will should be part of every person’s planning.
There’s not a lot to go on here, so it really, really depends. Sometimes there’s an advanced directive or living will in place, and a person has already made it known that there are certain treatments that they don’t want, esp. if they’re not in a position to make the decision for themselves.
And, BTW, everyone should do this.
Unless you’re on really poor terms with your father, I’d suggest talking to him about this first.
With things like this, it would be best to reach out to a local lawyer. You might be able to find a local organization that can send you on the right path for free.
Whether or not this is a crime will depend on the details of what happened, and where you are located (country & province/state).
Legal advice aside, do you have someone you can talk to about her death? Such as a different family member or a friend?
