Hospital: Gary Coleman's Ex Had Medical Authority

By PopEater Staff Posted Jun 3rd 2010 08:05AM

The hospital where Gary Coleman spent his dying hours has issued a statement regarding the legality of Shannon Price making medical decisions for the 42-year-old actor, who she secretly divorced in 2008.

"Mr. Coleman had completed an Advanced Health Care Directive that granted Shannon Price permission to make medical decisions on his behalf if he was unable to do so," Utah Valley Regional Medical Center told E! Online. "An Advanced Health Care Directive remains in effect regardless of a patient's marital status."

The statement came hours after speculation ignited over Price's rights, as Coleman's ex-wife, to make medical decisions for the unresponsive actor.

Previously, Janet Frank, spokeswoman for the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, told PEOPLE, "Shannon certainly portrayed herself as his wife to our staff and doctors. We assumed she was telling the truth. We can't comment on specific details in Mr. Coleman's case, but in general, any patient on life support is thoroughly evaluated medically before life support is ended."

Regardless of the medical legalities, Coleman's former lawyer, Randy Kester, predicts further controversies over Price's authority. "I don't think anyone is looking at criminal wrongdoing here, but this raises the issue of the appropriateness of her making the decision to take him off life support," Kester told the New York Daily News. "They've been divorced since August 2008 but continued to be together. She might have subjectively felt she was still his wife."

Kester told Us Magazine, "Some people in the public are raising issues whether ... she has authority to be making funeral arrangements, and exactly where she fits into his estate."

The Coleman 911 tape was released to the press yesterday afternoon. On the tape, Price seems reluctant to help the actor, stating she didn't "want to be traumatized right now" since she had a fever.

Tags: Gary Coleman, Shannon Price

Comments

(41)

Thursday 03 June

By buster

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keep your cheap knockoffs the hell off here,they are all fake.

Saturday 05 June

By DEE

Well a new report says the couple was divorced in 2008, so maybe she didnt have the right to terminate his life support.... I do believe there is something very fishy about her story..that he fell.. they were both very violent from what we've heard.. Hope they investigate.

By tony

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we gonna run this death in the ground like michael jakson,hes dead let him rip,move on already,jeez.

By donpandanell

Let's all boycott her, like the idiots that are boycotting Arizona and BP. How did America end up filled with so many idiots? Need a clue? Take a look at our school systym.

Wednesday 16 June

By Kitty

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AMEN

By thatBobguy

"Let's all boycott her, like the idiots that are boycotting Arizona and BP."

That's should be easy enough. I've been boycotting her all my life and didn't even know it.

i mean jackson,before the spelling police bust me.

By Steffen Jobbs

They're definitely going to milk this story for all it's worth. Somebody had to decide to terminate him if he was gonna be a vegetable. He struggled for most of life just to stay alive, so let him rest. If there was no foul play proven in his accident, maybe it was just an accident. People die all the time from hard blows to the head.

By John

How often do people get severe blows to the head in the presence of a person disinterested in their emergency?

By Boston Blackie

You are right. Unless and until it is proven to be not an accident but an on purpose we all need to keep our so called educated opionons to ourselves as we know NOTHING.
Everytime some one has to make a decision and sign the papers to cut off life support these crazy and mean stories circulate. Anyone having daily dialysis is weak and not steady on their feet and they FALL. Mr. Coleman had so many health problems, all of his life. There was no money to speak of, he would be uninsurable and was working as mall security is my understanding. No money there either. To those that were not there at the time of the incident, I suggest that you simply STFU and move on to the next "scandal"

By Dean

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Lets face it we are dealing wiyh a liberal media that only tells us what THEY want us to know!!! There are always 2 sides to a story . My take is she wanted whatever was left of his money!!

By BTDT

Don't discount the possibility that he threw himself down the stairs. My word, that woman's a pooch.

By mike

Dean there are 3 sides to every story. Your side, my side, and the truth

By elin

A liberal media? LOL!! Yeah, maybe 75 years ago.

By Stephanie

I understand that people freak out during times of distress, however I think it would have been appropriate for her to have called Coleman's parents before removing him from life support so they could have had the opportunity to say good-bye to their son, estranged or not. For her to make those decisions and let his parents find out about the death of their son from the media knocking on their door is pretty cold.

By I care

ok, who knows what the couples agreement was.
Gary did not change the Directive to take her off.
Maybe Gary did not want to be on live support how many people have conversations about this but do not put on paper?
Seems more and more trying to blame people for things that happen. What happen to the word accident?
Accidents do happen

I recall he did not get along with parents again who knows the family issues.

By messy gal

As I remember it, family issues big times...namely MONEY, his that they spent. I have news for people, a death does not heal a rift, it only deepens it.
Another point that some don't seem to know....lawyers are invovled when these meets are held to decide to turn off life support on a patient. She did not just say...cut the power I am out of here.

By shele12

Hmmm, run this in the ground...... You mean like Kieth legend, Elvis Presley, Anna Nicole, etc. And to Jobbs key word in your post was blows to the head. I think they said he fell. But either way, whether it was a fall or esp. a blow to the head it needs to be investigated. As to him being a vegetable, Medical science is not always right about the either. Look at Bret Michals Miraculous recovery. If it was my loved one I would want a very through investigation. And if the 911 tape piece they really should look into it.

By ajmcdon

Unless he changed his directive, divorced or not, she had the right to make the decision. That is what the hospital had to go by. I see no harm in what was done.

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