Builder in 'vegetative state' after heart attack can be allowed to die, judge rules

A builder in a "vegetative state" after a heart attack can lawfully be allowed to die against the wishes of his family, a judge has ruled.

Specialists treating the man, who has not been named but is from Yorkshire and in his 50s, told Mrs Justice Arbuthnot he suffered severe brain damage when his brain was starved of oxygen for at least 18 minutes after a heart attack at home last September.

He has not regained consciousness and doctors said the time has come for life-support treatment to end.

The man’s wife and children asked Mrs Justice Arbuthnot to give him "more time" in the hope his condition will improve.

They said he is Muslim and would want God to decide when it is time to die.

But the judge on Friday ruled ending life-support treatment is in the man’s best interests and would be lawful.

She has overseen a trial in the Court of Protection, where judges consider issues relating people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves, in London.

Mrs Justice Arbuthnot said the man cannot be identified in media reports of the case.

Bosses at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, in Wakefield, have responsibility for the man's care and asked the judge to decide what moves are in his best interests.

Mrs Justice Arbuthnot, who also oversees hearings in the Family Division of the High Court and is based at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, said evidence shows he is in a "permanent vegetative state" and will always need 24-hour care in a specialist "setting".

"There is no evidence that he enjoys his current life," she said.

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

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

She said it is hard to see how he has any "dignity".

Barrister Ben McCormack, who represents the man’s relatives, told the judge they will consider an appeal.

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