Vincent Lambert passed away at 8 a.m. on Thursday, July 11, at the age of 42. The death of this quadriplegic psychiatric nurse in a vegetative state following an accident puts an end to a family battle and a long legal soap opera. Back to the many twists and turns of this case.
Vincent Lambert is dead. Nine days after the start of the cessation of treatment during which he ceased to be fed and hydrated while being simultaneously immersed in “deep and continuous” sedation, this psychiatric nurse, quadriplegic and in a vegetative state following a accident he suffered in September 2008, died at the age of 42, on July 11 shortly after 8 a.m., at Reims hospital.
A look back at this drama that lasted 11 years, against a backdrop of family battles, medical decisions and legal developments with the question of legalizing euthanasia in the background.
September 2008 : Vincent Lambert, a 32-year-old psychiatric nurse, is the victim of a serious road accident in the Marne. Quadriplegic, hospitalized in a vegetative state, he had never indicated his opposition to aggressive therapy.
June 2011 : The specialists of the Coma Science Group in Belgium, where Vincent Lambert was transferred, describe him in “a minimal state of consciousness”, excluding any hope of improvement.
November 2011 : Return of Vincent Lambert to the palliative care unit of the CHU de Reims.
A first cessation of treatment initiated in 2013
April 2013 : The medical team, with the agreement of Rachel Lambert, wife of Vincent Lambert, stops feeding the patient and reduces his hydration. Vincent Lambert, almost 5 years after his accident, is still plunged into a deep coma. It is based on the Leonetti law on the end of life that this protocol for stopping treatment is initiated by the medical team in consultation with Rachel Lambert. The parents of Vincent Lambert, uninformed of the cessation of care, then denounced a “murder of the disabled” and obtained on May 11 that the administrative court ordered the restoration of food and hydration for their son.
January 2014 : New decision to stop treatment by the medical team under the Leonetti law. The parents seized the administrative court again, which ruled in their favor. Following this action, the Council of State, seized on appeal by the hospital and Rachel Lambert, orders a new expertise.
Irreversible brain damage according to experts
May 2014 : The experts give their conclusions. They authorize the cessation of treatment by noting a deterioration in Vincent Lambert’s condition and the irreversibility of his brain damage. The parents then seize the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which suspends the cessation of treatment pending a ruling.
June-July 2015 : The ECHR considers that the cessation of care is not “against the right to life”. Vincent Lambert’s parents are asking for the revision of the ECHR judgment which rejects this request. While the Reims University Hospital announces that it will initiate a new procedure for stopping treatment following the decision of the ECHR, the parents are filing a complaint against the establishment and the doctors. The Reims University Hospital responds by seizing the prosecution to appoint a legal representative for Vincent Lambert.
September 2015 : François Lambert, the patient’s nephew, in turn requests the cessation of treatment, a request rejected by the administrative court.
June 2016 : The administrative court of Nancy asks the doctors to resume the procedure of consultation of experts which could lead to the cessation of care for Vincent Lambert, a decision to which the parents oppose a few weeks later.
December 2016 : The Court of Cassation confirms the attribution of the guardianship of Vincent Lambert to his wife Rachel who had obtained it in March 2016 from the judge of guardianships, a decision which had been contested by the parents.
Parents’ complaint against the Reims University Hospital
January 2017 : Vincent Lambert’s parents are demanding his transfer to a specialized care unit, a request rejected by the Reims Court of Appeal and then by the Court of Cassation. Following these decisions, the parents filed a complaint against the CHU for “neglect of a person unable to protect themselves”.
September 2017 : After the announcement by the CHU of Reims of a new examination procedure that could lead to the cessation of care, action by the parents of Vincent Lambert with the Council of State to have this decision annulled.
January 2018 : The Council of State rejects the parents’ appeal.
April 2018 : Vincent Lambert’s doctor decides to stop treatment after a fourth collegial procedure. On April 20, the Marne administrative court ordered a new medical report to determine the patient’s state of health.
“Unreasonable Obstinacy”
November 2018 : The experts’ report concludes that there is an “irreversible chronic vegetative state”.
May 2019 : After having mentioned an “unreasonable obstinacy”, Dr. Sanchez decides on May 20 to stop the artificial nutrition and hydration of Vincent Lambert. The same day, seized by the parents following the opinion rendered by a UN commission, the Paris Court of Appeal ordered the resumption of treatment.
June 2019 : The Court of Cassation overturns, for formal reasons, the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal, opening the way to a new procedure for stopping treatment.
July 2019 : The procedure for stopping treatment is relaunched on July 2. Vincent Lambert dies on July 11.
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