The Reims Court of Appeal has confirmed that the guardianship of Vincent Lambert, plunged into a vegetative state for 8 years, must be entrusted to his wife, for the next 10 years.
The tutelage of Vincent Lambert returns to his wife Rachel Lambert, confirmed this Friday the Court of Appeal of Reims (Marne). For more than 3 years, his wife and his parents have been tearing each other apart over his survival in court.
On March 10, the guardianship judge decided to entrust the role of main guardian to Rachel Lambert, in favor of stopping care, for the next 10 years. A decision immediately contested by the parents of the 39-year-old man who has been in a vegetative state since 2008 following a car accident.
But the appeal of Vincent Lambert’s parents, who want him to be kept alive and transferred to another hospital, will not be followed by the Reims Court of Appeal. The judges also did not decide to grant double guardianship as recommended by the Advocate General. According to the magistrate, entrusting the supervision to Rachel Lambert would lead to a new procedure for stopping care. But for the lawyer of the person concerned, this will have no impact because the decision is up to the medical team.
Resumption of the procedure for stopping treatment
One of the lawyers of Vincent Lambert’s parents, Me Jean Paillot, announced that they were going to appeal against this “bewildering” decision. The latter should also appeal to the Council of State to challenge the decision of the administrative court of Nancy ordering the CHU of Reims to resume the collegial procedure that may lead to the cessation of care.
The establishment in Reims indicated on June 17 that it would comply with the court order. The medical team should therefore resume the procedure for stopping treatment suspended in July 2015 by Dr Daniela Simon, believing that the conditions of “serenity” required were not sufficient.
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