9 Aug 2023
MAHARAJ v TE WHATU ORA [2023] NZHC 2128
- Citation
- [2023] NZHC 2128
- Court
- High Court
The Court refused both the declaratory relief and the interim injunction because unanimous, expert clinical opinion established that continued VA ECMO was medically futile with no therapeutic benefit; continuation would imperil other patients due to scarce ICU resources; an ethics committee referral was unnecessary where no treatment options existed; and a short delay to seek external opinions would not reasonably be expected to change the treating clinicians' view or justify risking other patients' lives, so judicial intervention was not warranted.