Man collapsed with "do not resuscitate" tattoo, doctors were conflicted

A strange story:

A man collapsed with ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ tattooed on his chest. Doctors didn’t know what to do.

Initially they couldn't find anyone related to the guy, etc. and they ignored the tattoo and did some treatments on him. They later reviewed his case and decided to honor the tattoo and let him die, and afterwards eventually discovered paperwork that also showed his wishes were not to resuscitate.

Do people think the doctors were correct? Or should they not have done anything either way until they tracked down actual paperwork?

I was reading about this yesterday. Interesting story indeed and will probably lead to a lot of legal questions about whether a tattoo is a legally binding document, etc.

That said I think the doctors made the right call.

.....and now I can't wait for this court case.

The Tattoo

Is that his signature? [NO]

his mark - made by his own hand [NO]

Was the wittness to that statement present [NO]

Resuscitate [YES]

But then they were presented with a legal order overriding their first order - to heal

No lawbreakers to see here

Will any of that matter to some Greedy Lawyer [FUH NO]