Ms B v An NHS Hospital Trust [2002] EWHC 429 (Fam)
"The Claimant, whom I shall call Ms B, seeks declarations from the High Court in its exercise of the inherent jurisdiction. She claims that the invasive treatment which is currently being given by the respondent by way of artificial ventilation is an unlawful trespass. The respondent is the NHS Hospital Trust (the Trust) responsible for the hospital which is currently caring for Ms B, (the Hospital). At the request of the court the Official Solicitor instructed Mr Peter Jackson QC to act as Advocate to the Court. The main issue is whether Ms B has the capacity to make her own decision about her treatment in hospital. Underlying this important issue is the tragic story of an able and talented woman of 43 who has suffered a devastating illness which has caused her to become tetraplegic and whose expressed wish is not to be kept artificially alive by the use of a ventilator." [Paras 1 and 2 of judgment.]