Background 

David Glass was born with severe mental and physical disabilities. In 1998, he was taken to hospital several times because of complications from an operation. 

As David’s condition grew worse, doctors became convinced that he was dying. In their opinion, continued intensive care, beyond the use of morphine to lessen David’s distress, would be wrong.

David’s mother Carol strongly disagreed. She felt that her son would recover. Carol opposed the use of morphine and insisted that doctors resuscitate David if necessary. 

But without Carol knowing it, the doctors placed a “Do Not Resuscitate” note in David’s medical file. At a critical stage, they also treated him with morphine, despite the family’s objections. 

David’s condition rapidly deteriorated. A scuffle broke out between some family members and the doctors, who were still insisting that David should not be revived. During the struggle, Carol was able to successfully resuscitate her son. 

David’s condition improved and he was able to leave hospital the same day. 

Carol applied for a full legal review of the decisions taken by the hospital concerning her son’s treatment, but the UK courts did not approve her request.