Telephone Consent: Fill & Download for Free

I was working in the Neurosurgical ICU, and we had a sudden admission from the ER. The patient was a 72 year old comatose male with a subdural hematoma, sustained from a fall from a ladder while he was cleaning out his roof gutters. He was accompanied by his wife, who had witnessed the fall and arranged immediate emergency transport.This is the best case scenario in the case of a subdural hematoma, because the blood clot is directly under the skull, not bleeding into the brain tissue, and thus a hole can be drilled through the skull, right at the bedside, and the clot easily removed. If this is done timely, full recovery follows. The patient actually awakens from the coma before our eyes, and it is one of the most rewarding cases for an NCU nurse.So I prepared the consent form for the patient’s wife to sign, while the neurosurgeon was busy getting set up to do the procedure. “I just need the next of kin signature, so we can proceed. As his wife, we need your permission, legally, in order to do the procedure.” But she hesitated. She looked distressed. “I’m not his wife,” she said, “I can’t legally sign for him.” She explained that they had lived together for many years, but never married because their Social Security payments would have consequently been reduced.Ok so now the timing became ever much more important. “Who can sign?” “His children, he has three, any one of them can sign.” I called and was ready to get telephone consent from the patient’s eldest son. But he wouldn’t give it. “Let me talk to my brother,” he said. I had the neurosurgeon explain to him how dire the situation was, but still no dice. So we waited. Meanwhile we started the process to obtain administrative consent. The patient’s domestic partner stood by his bedside, crying and talking to him, holding his hand, stroking his face. She clearly loved him.The son got back to me. Yay! But, no, wait, “We’re coming in,” he told me over the phone. “Don’t do anything until we get there.” “How long will you be?” “We’ll get there as soon as we can. Don’t treat him until we get there.” So now we hit a snag with administrative consent because there was in fact a family member who was coming in to sign.Time was of the essence. The clock ticking out the minutes, then an hour, then another, was excruciating. This was before cell phones. We kept calling the house, but no answer. Every minute that went by meant prolonged and increasing intracranial pressure that would reduce the chance of recovery. There was so much tension in that room, so much concern for the brain damage that we knew was occurring, as we stood by helplessly.Finally two sons and a daughter arrived. But they refused to sign consent, demanding to see their father. The patient’s anguished partner left the bedside, and the children gathered around, conversing right over their comatose father. “If we sign consent, and he recovers, they might get married.” “Yes and then the house will go to her.” “And if she dies then it will go to her children.” “We always knew that was a possibility, but here’s our chance to change things.” “It looks like fate has stepped up for us.”Hearing this conversation, we realized in horror that these adult children never intended to sign the consent. They deliberately wasted precious time, knowing full well what the result would be. They were going to let their father die. By the time we got administrative consent at this point it would be too late. “Yeah, we’re not going to sign consent,” the oldest son said. And they left. My fists balled up in anger and incredulity, and I so wished that the patient’s partner had just kept the fact that they weren’t married to herself, and signed the consent. A lie would have saved him. A white lie, a good lie. But she was too honest.So the one who truly loved him came back to stay with the patient until he died later that day. And that was the saddest scene I ever witnessed as a nurse.

Yes, the ER will treat an unaccompanied minor, but only with written or telephoned consent of the parent or guardian.Of course, if you were very critical, they’d focus on saving your life first, and tracking down your parent(s) afterward.

Why do so many people advise to refuse a cop if the cop asks permission to search your car without a warrant? I mean if I have nothing to hide, then why not let the cop search the car?I was a police officer or twenty-five years and made hundreds of car stops and completed quite a few searches, so listen to this retired patrol commander:In the simplest of terms, if a police officer is asking your permission to do something, that means that they are not allowed to do this thing, without your permission or consent.The law gives the police broad powers to do many things such as stop based on reasonable suspicion and arrest based on probable cause. They can seize property with a warrant or without a warrant if it is contraband and is in plain view. Given all these things that the police are given the right and duty to do, doesn’t it seem odd that they would ask your permission to do something they are not allowed to do without your consent?In the case of a search, whether it is your car, your home or your briefcase, the police officer is not looking for evidence to exonerate you from some crime, they are looking for evidence to charge you with a crime.If the officer has a real need to search your car the officer can apply for a search warrant. This, in many cases, can be done over the telephone; This is called a telephonic search warrant. If on the other hand, the officer is on a hunting and fishing expedition then they should fish somewhere else, this lake is closed!It's not possible that allowing a search will somehow help you. Yes, it is true you have nothing to hide. But the officer should also have nothing to hide by putting the reason for the search in writing and getting a judge to approve it.Thank you and stay safe!2020 Author of the book “One Cop’s Life” available on Amazon