A class action has been commenced against a California nursing home for treating residents with antipsychotic medications without the proper consent.

The law in California requires nursing homes to ensure that consent for treatment has been received from the patient or a family member.

The lead plaintiff is Kathi Levine, daughter of Patricia Thomas. Mrs. Thomas, who had Alzheimer’s disease was treated with medications including Zoloft, Ativan and Haldol without her daughter’s knowledge or consent. Mrs. Thomas died a few months later and the drugs have been implicated in her death.

The lawsuit makes serious allegations, including the falsification of records. The case raises the issue of how doctors ensure that the law is complied with and that proper consent has been obtained for treatment.

AARP (the American Association for Retired Persons) has joined the lawsuit and will provide lawyers as co-counsel in the action.

This class action is unique in that it addresses treatment consent for incapable persons and seeks liability for failure to abide by legal requirements for consent. Undoubtedly its outcome will be carefully watched, not only by lawyers and lawmakers, but by physicians and others who care for older and incapable persons.

Click here to read the Ventura County Star article.

In its April 21, 2012 issue, the Economist addressed the topic of what happens to digital property when its owner dies. Not only does the question concern email and Facebook accounts which were addressed in an earlier blog posting, but also virtual assets such as software that have a quantifiable value.

Interestingly, this is an issue with global reach, well beyond North America. In China, a local survey found that 20% of respondents owned digital property with a value in excess of $790. In India, a hub of technological development, the courts have already seen cases of wills that comprise digital estates.

The law, here and abroad, is unclear on whether executors can access, or beneficiaries can inherit, digital assets. The matter is further complicated by the fact that rights of access may also clash with providers’ privacy policies.

This issue has given rise to a nascent digital estate planning industry. One company, Entrustet, offers clients password protection and methods to deal with digital accounts on clients’ passing. The company also offers a list of “Digital Estate Planning Experts”, who are lawyers qualified to deal with digital assets. As this is a novel area of law, but one that affects many people, it will undoubtedly be one that estate planners, litigators and the courts are increasingly required to address.

Click here to read the Economist article
Click here to read about Entrustet

Government moves to grab life-insurance cash from insane man who killed wife
By Colin Perkel & The Canadian Press
Published Wednesday, Apr. 25, 2012

Brief excerpt:

Ontario is moving to seize the cash paid out to a man who killed his wife and then collected $51,000 on her life insurance policy, the government said Wednesday.

In a ruling that drew fierce criticism, the Ontario Court of Appeal on Tuesday awarded the insurance money to the man on the grounds he was insane when he battered and stabbed his wife to death and therefore was not criminally responsible.

Click here to read the article on the Globe and Mail website