| Course | HA550 Health Care Law and Ethics |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 9 |
| Paper type | End-of-life ethics case |
| Length | About 890 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | Master of Health Administration (MHA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HA550 Unit 9
Warm, Pink and Legally Dead: An End-of-Life Ethics Case on a Composite Family's Refusal to Accept a Determination of Death by Neurologic Criteria, Asking Whether He Has Died, What the Hospital Owes the Family and What the Ethics Committee Should Do
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HA550: Health Care Law and Ethics
Unit 9 End-of-Life Ethics Case
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The patient, family and hospital are composite and bracketed for the writer's own data; the law and guidance described are real, and state rules on accommodation vary.
Facts
[Day one]: cardiac arrest at home, [25] minutes before circulation returned. [Day three]: no brainstem reflexes, no response to pain. [Day four]: two examinations, [12] hours apart, by two attending physicians, followed by an apnea test showing no breathing effort, meet the hospital's criteria. The physician tells the family he has died. His mother refuses to accept it. His wife, his legal next of kin, asks for [five] days until his brother can arrive.
Question 1: Has He Died?
Law. Most states define death, in language drawn from the Uniform Determination of Death Act, as either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brainstem (National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, 1981). Determination must follow accepted medical standards. Medical standard. A 2023 consensus guideline for adults and children sets out the prerequisites, the examination, the apnea test and when ancillary tests are needed (Greer et al., 2023). The hospital's examinations followed it. Answer. He has died. The ventilator is not keeping him alive; it is keeping his organs supplied with oxygen after death. That distinction is clear in law and medicine, though it is hard for families to see when the chest still rises. Machines can keep a heart beating after death, which is exactly why the family's eyes and the law disagree.
Question 2: What Does the Hospital Owe the Family?
Not a choice about whether he is dead. The determination is medical and legal, not a family decision, and most states do not require family consent to the examination. Honest, repeated explanation. Families often need to hear the explanation more than once, with time to see the tests or ask questions of a second physician. Reasonable accommodation. Most states have no statute requiring hospitals to continue ventilation after death, though a few require accommodation of religious objections and others call for a brief period of reasonable accommodation. Ethicists have argued that time-limited accommodation respects families' deeply held views without denying the determination (Johnson, 2016). A short, defined period for a brother to say goodbye is a humane accommodation the hospital can offer, even where law does not require it. Clarity about limits. The accommodation should be time-limited, stated in advance and explained as care for the family, not as treatment for him.
Who Speaks for the Family
His wife is next of kin under state law and the person the hospital will deal with on decisions such as the timing of disconnection and funeral arrangements. His mother's view still matters, and the team should not use the legal hierarchy to shut her out. When family members disagree, the ethics committee can help them hear each other, but the hospital should be clear that the wife's request for time, not the mother's demand to continue indefinitely, is the one it will accommodate. Naming this early, kindly and in private, prevents the mother from learning it in a crowded hallway.
Question 3: What Should the Ethics Committee Do?
The ethics committee advises, mediates and documents; it does not decide whether a person is dead. Here it should meet with the family, the physicians and the chaplain; confirm that the determination followed policy; help the team offer a defined accommodation, such as ventilation until [72] hours or the brother's arrival, whichever comes first; and document the plan. If the family seeks a court order to continue ventilation indefinitely, the hospital's counsel, not the committee, responds. Some well-publicized disputes have lasted months, with a family moving a person declared dead to another facility, and those cases show the cost of unclear early communication.
Organ Donation
Donation must be discussed separately, by the organ procurement organization, and only after the family has been told of the death. Linking the two conversations would make the determination look self-interested.
What the Hospital's Policy Should Say
State the criteria and who may perform examinations; require a clear explanation to family by the attending physician; offer a second opinion on request; describe a time-limited accommodation with a default length; describe how and when ventilation will stop, with the family present if they wish; and name the ethics committee's role.
The Conversation With His Mother
The chaplain and the attending met with his mother a second time, showed her the apnea test results and explained that his brain would not recover. She did not accept the word "dead," but she accepted the plan: the ventilator would continue until his brother arrived, then stop with the family present. Accepting a plan without accepting a word is often the most a team can ask.
Conclusion
He has died, and the family's grief does not change that. What the hospital owes is clarity, time and kindness, within limits stated plainly in advance.
References
Greer, D. M., Kirschen, M. P., Lewis, A., Gronseth, G. S., Rae-Grant, A., Ashwal, S., Babu, M. A., Bauer, D. F., Billinghurst, L., Corey, A., Partap, S., Rubin, M. A., Shutter, L., Takahashi, C., Tasker, R. C., Varelas, P. N., Wijdicks, E., Bennett, A., Wessels, S. R., & Halperin, J. J. (2023). Pediatric and adult brain death/death by neurologic criteria consensus guideline. Neurology, 101(24), 1112-1132. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000207740
Johnson, L. S. M. (2016). The case for reasonable accommodation of conscientious objections to declarations of brain death. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 13(1), 105-115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-015-9683-z
National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. (1981). Uniform Determination of Death Act.
Reading the HA 550 Unit 9 instructions
Unit 9 in HA 550 typically asks students to analyze an end-of-life case using law, ethics and organizational policy. Instructions often require stating the facts, identifying the key questions, applying the relevant law and guidelines, considering the family's perspective, defining the ethics committee's role and recommending policy. Order the analysis by questions, answering each before the next. Distinguish clearly between what is a medical and legal determination and what is open to family preference. Cite the law and current clinical guidance in APA style, and note where states differ. Describe the ethics committee's role accurately: it advises and mediates, but does not decide. End with policy language the hospital could adopt.
How this HA550 Unit 9 example is built
The sample's facts give the timeline of the arrest, examinations and family requests. A margin note explains why questions order the case. Question one applies the uniform act and the 2023 guideline, and a highlighted line explains why families and the law see the same body differently. Question two separates what the hospital must not concede, the fact of death, from what it may offer, time, with a margin note and a source arguing for reasonable accommodation. A section on who speaks for the family addresses the mother and the wife. Question three defines the committee's role. Organ donation, policy contents, the second conversation with his mother and a closing paragraph, flagged by a third note, finish it.
Where the points sit in the HA550 Unit 9 rubric
HA 550 end-of-life rubrics generally award points for accurate facts, well-ordered questions, correct application of law and guidelines, sensitivity to the family, accurate description of the ethics committee's role, policy recommendations, sources and presentation. Fact points go to a clear timeline. Question points reward answering in a logical order. Law points require accurate statements with current guidance. Family points depend on treating grief with respect without conceding the determination. Committee points go to describing its advisory and mediating role. Policy points reward specific provisions. Cases that separate what is not negotiable from what can be offered tend to receive the highest marks, since that distinction guides staff in hard moments.
Common HA550 Unit 9 mistakes, and how to avoid them
End-of-life papers often lose points by treating death by neurologic criteria as a family choice, or by treating the family's objection as an error to correct. Others describe the ethics committee as a decision-maker. Some cite outdated criteria. Ask your questions in order: what the law and medicine say, what the organization owes the family, and what the committee should do. Cite current guidance and the governing statute, noting state variation on accommodation. Distinguish the fact of death from the time and support the family may be offered. Describe the committee's role accurately. Recommend policy that makes accommodation time-limited and stated in advance, and keep donation conversations separate.
Get an HA550 Unit 9 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 9 case your section assigned, including any documents it supplies, a directive, a POLST or a state statute, with the rubric. The analysis separates who decides from how, cites cases for what they held, and ends with the next conversation. First custom sample free; returned within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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HA550 Unit 9 questions, answered
Where can I find a free HA550 Unit 9 sample paper?
The complete HA550 Unit 9 end-of-life ethics case is here, on a composite family's objection to a determination of death by neurologic criteria.
Is a person declared dead by neurologic criteria legally dead?
Yes, under the laws of most states based on the Uniform Determination of Death Act.
Must a hospital continue a ventilator after death?
Generally no, though some states require accommodation of religious objections and many hospitals offer a brief period.
Does the ethics committee decide whether a patient has died?
No; it advises, mediates and documents, while the determination is medical and legal.
How long is the HA550 Unit 9 case?
About six pages answering three questions in order.