[Hoot Gibson]

I found this story on a British newspaper website. This story from Texas had a happy ending, but it raises some interesting issues about when it is acceptable to take the law into one's own hands. Obviously, the hospital staff was wrong to insist on pulling the plug on this patient and the father was wrong to threaten the hospital staff and police with a gun, but the father's actions probably saved his son's life.

If the son had not recovered after the standoff, the father would have undoubtedly received a stiff sentence for his crime, but his motive and his actions would have been the same. My head tells me that the punishment should be the same, regardless of the outcome, but the hospital would probably not have been held criminally liable for causing the death of the son by prematurely declaring him brain dead.

How many people die each year because of medical malpractice each year compared to deaths by gun crimes?

'I'm here now because of it': Son awakens after armed father had standoff with police at hospital when he wouldn't let doctors pull the plug on his 'brain dead' 27-year-old

• George Pickering II took gun and went to Houston's Tomball Regional Medical Center to spend a few more hours with his son George III
  
• Pickering's 'brain dead' son had suffered a huge stroke earlier in the month
  
• Doctors and father's family were 'terminally weaning' son off life support
  
• Pickering forced his way into son's room and standoff with police ensued
  
• When son squeezed his hand during the standoff, Pickering surrendered
  
• He was arrested but his son recovered a few weeks later and is doing well
  

A father took a gun into hospital to stop doctors taking his son off life support - and during the three-hour stand-off the young man squeezed his hand.
The sign that he wasn't brain dead meant he was kept alive - and he is now recovering and doing well.

His father, 59-year-old George Pickering II, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after marching into Tomball Regional Medical Center in Texas with a gun.

His 27-year-old son, George III, had been declared brain dead after suffering a massive stroke in January.

[Demarcus ware]

I found this story on a British newspaper website. This story from Texas had a happy ending, but it raises some interesting issues about when it is acceptable to take the law into one's own hands. Obviously, the hospital staff was wrong to insist on pulling the plug on this patient and the father was wrong to threaten the hospital staff and police with a gun, but the father's actions probably saved his son's life.

If the son had not recovered after the standoff, the father would have undoubtedly received a stiff sentence for his crime, but his motive and his actions would have been the same. My head tells me that the punishment should be the same, regardless of the outcome, but the hospital would probably not have been held criminally liable for causing the death of the son by prematurely declaring him brain dead.

How many people die each year because of medical malpractice each year compared to deaths by gun crimes?

Just a quick google search and not really getting too deep into it. It appears over 200,000 from medical malpractice, where as 30,000 die from guns. Some of those malpractice deaths come from the wrong medicine being given, and some from unnecessary surgeries. That is huge, i did not know that many died from malpractice. Yikes. Also, like you, i want too say his punishment should be the same regardless, but if they had killed his son, would anyone face charges for it? Nope.

[Granny Bear]

That 200K only includes those that are reported. How many more are covered up?? I remember my parents and "the doctor says" phenomenon. I believe if the doctor told them to jump off a bridge, they would've done it. Folks need to question their treatment, their providers, etc. A good physician will not be offended by those kinds of questions. If the ARE offended, change docs!!!