Dying Declaration Under Section 32 of Ipc

* This is a will contest case involving a codicil to the Last Will and Testament of Wheelock A. Bisson, M.D., deceased.

Nothing can prepare a family for an unexpected death. The toll it takes has devastating emotional consequences. To make matters worse, there are practical problems that often arise. The deceased may have incurred large medical bills before they died. The death requires a burial which can cost the surviving family members more than expected. Also, if the deceased provided income for the family, the struggle to keep their lives going can be almost impossible. When the death was caused by an act of negligence, there are terms for the surviving family members to bring forward a wrongful death claim.

Very often, deliberate decisions are made which results in the end of a life. For example, a person could be kept on life support, but instead, a family member or other significant person might choose to switch off the life support machine resulting in the official death of a patient. There is also the case that resuscitation of a patient may eventually prove to be trivial and a doctor might suggest just making the patient as comfortable as possible until their eventual passing. In the above situations, a medical professional’s decisions would not be questioned or doubted. It is conventional practice (Warnock and MacDonald 2008).

On a living will, an individual can express if they would prefer not to be resuscitated or if they don’t want to be living artificially on life-support. Additionally, living wills establish a written declaration of a power of attorney, establishing a person who may legally speak on behalf of a patient who is unable to do so. Living wills are crucial pieces of documentation that are necessary for the dignity and wishes of a person who may fall unexpectedly into a life-threatening condition. If a person does not wish to live artificially on life support, a living will may be the only documentation that can secure their right to die with what they choose to be a dignified death. Unfortunately, living wills are not too common, resulting in countless Americans whose lives are extended long after they wish to live. In order to get a living will, one can either hire an attorney and have the attorney draft a living will or there are templates available that can be filled out and submitted for notarization.

Death is the action or fact of dying or being killed; the end of the life of a person or

Rule 804: Declarant Unavailable: (4) Is unable to be present or to testify at the hearing because of death. Exception: Dying Declaration: Rule 804 (b) (2) Statement under the belief of Imminent Death. In a prosecution for homicide or in a civil case, a statement that the declarant's death to be imminent made about its cause or circumstances. Limitations (4) The declarant must be unavailable to testify.

Moving further, the case of Mckerr v United Kingdom dispute that before an investigation can be carried out with regards to article 2 (as incorporated in domestic law by s.6 of HRA), the death in question had to have occurred after the HRA comes into force. Lord Nichollos in is address states that for one to be obliged to use article 2, one as to inquire that the death must have resulted due to a violent death, and for it to be enforceable in section 6 of HRA , it must be stated in it. Lord Brown also held that because the procedure to examine was connected to death, it

It is incumbent upon the claimant in these cases to prove that the deceased party died because of

When an accused is charged with gruesome murder such as bride burning, bail should not be granted to such an accused. Grant of bail was refused to the accused charged of murder having regard to the facts that though two eye witnesses had retracted their statements, there were still eye-witness to the occurrence who directly connected the accused and assigned him a specific role in the murder and that the ailment of the accused was not of such nature as to require him to be released on bail.

Facts of the case (Summary of facts of case and its journey to Supreme Court)

Our first and main goal is to determine the mode of death (Ebert, N.d, 1987). Keep in mind that the mode of death and the mean of death are two separate things (Ebert, N.d, 1987). When we want to know the mean of death, we are trying to find out how someone died (Ebert, N.d, 1987). When we look at the mode of death, we look at if the death was caused by an accident, natural causes, a homicide, or suicide (Ebert, N.d, 1987). The next goal is to find out why the death occurred at a certain time and date (Ebert, N.d, 1987). The death could have occurred because of the victim being in the wrong place at the wrong time, anniversary of a loved one, or because of a grudge against the victim (Ebert, N.d, 1987). Next, we look at the motivation for the death (Ebert, N.d, 1987). The motivation for death includes intentional, sub-intentional, and unintentional (Ebert, N.d, 1987). The fourth and last purpose is to bring peace to the survivor’s family (Ebert, N.d, 1987). The autopsy can help bring closure to the family and help answer questions (Ebert, N.d,

In the New York Times bestseller Being Mortal, surgeon and author Atul Gawande tackles just what may be the most difficult challenge of his profession, learning how to handle the ‘end-of-life process.’ Throughout his book, he recites the stories of several individuals, in which the trajectory from a state of independence to one of death can easily be traced in each. Although Gawande does acknowledge that death is inevitable, he emphasizes that individuals of society, especially those that work in the health care field, have not yet learned how to deal with this slow process well, if at all. Surprisingly, he does not blame patients or the intrinsic difficulty that death itself brings, but in fact is relentless in the criticism of his fellow physicians, stating ‘we’ve been wrong about what our job is in medicine. We think our job is to ensure health and survival…it is to enable well-being.’ (Gawande, Atul. Being Mortal pp.259) This paper aims to further analyze Gawande’s position on end-of-life care, understand why palliative care must play a larger role than interventional medicine during a patient’s last few weeks and determine whether a physician’s role during this crucial time should be that of a ‘healer’ or a ‘sustainer of the soul.’

Our society finds it difficult to talk about dying and euphemisms are the norm. It is typical for both doctors and patients to be hesitant to initiate a discussion on dying. Focus instead is often more often placed on interventions and actions for managing symptoms. This avoidance can leave patients and their families unprepared for the inevitable death. (Schapira, 2010) It also often results in requests for therapies which may be excessive, costly and even painful in the hopes for a cure. One study demonstrates that when patients are aware that they are terminally ill, the majority are able to reach a state of peacefulness and also exhibit lower levels of distress. (Ray, Block, Friedlander, Zhang, Maciejewski & Prigerson, 2006) It is also important that family members are willing to discuss end-of-life options with their loved ones. According to elderly patients, they are most often the ones who initiate these conversations with their

There is a greater risk from the physicians diagnosing death over the objections of the family and the attending physician than not diagnosing death without having the medical staff agree.

One case in particular provides the most compelling evidence of what has been suggested above. When Doc Daneeka’s name appears on the flight roster of a plane that has crashed, he is declared dead despite the fact that everything indicates that he is alive.