Resuscitation attempts in asystolic patients: The legal tail wagging the dog?

In today’s litigious society, legal worries can cause Emergency practitioners to alter their delivery of clinical care. One clinical scenario in which this particularly true is in resuscitation of the so called “medically futile” patient. Patients who arrive to the Emergency Department in prolonged asystole have a uniformly dismal prognosis at best. Yet, many Emergency Physicians often continue resuscitative efforts for fear of being sued. These fears are largely unjustified. This article attempts to analyze the factors and elements involved in support of the assertion that the risk of a lawsuit is negligible at best.