Werth v. Taylor

Should health care professionals be allowed to administer life-saving, emergency treatment when there is a possibility that the patient would have refused? Plaintiff, a Jehovah’s Witness, underwent severe bleeding following the birth of her twins. Despite knowing that plaintiff’s religious beliefs prohibited blood transfusions, defendant ordered a blood transfusion to avoid her death. Consent could not be obtained at the time from the plaintiff because she was under general anesthesia and her condition was rapidly deteriorating.