In re Interest of Riley, State of Nebraska v. D'Etta H.

Within a month of being born, Riley M. suffered severe brain injury as a result of being shaken by his father. Shortly after the shaking incident, Riley was taken into the custody of the Nebraska Department of Social Services (department). When Riley was one year old, Riley’s doctors diagnosed Riley as being in a persistent vegetative state. Riley’s doctors recommended that a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order be entered for Riley. The department and a guardian ad litem who had been appointed for Riley sought approval of the DNR order from a juvenile court. The undisputed evidence before the court in favor of entering the DNR order included evidence of Riley’s persistent vegetative state and testimony by one of Riley’s doctors, pediatric specialist Dr. Mary Kay Bowen, stating that the DNR order would be in Riley’s best interests. The court ordered that the DNR order be entered for Riley. In July 2016, Dr. Bowen noted marked changes in Riley’s condition and changed her mind about the propriety of the DNR order. Bowen concluded that although Riley continued to have severe injuries, Riley was no longer in a persistent vegetative state, so a DNR order was no longer appropriate. As a result of Bowen’s revised opinion, the juvenile court withdrew its prior order entering a DNR order for Riley and submitted a bill of exceptions to the appeals court to review the decision of the juvenile court.