Judge stops brain tests: Farmingdale mom wins order to keep son on life support

A Nassau judge has intervened in a complex legal dispute between the family of 23-year-old Anthony “Tony” Gestone and Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC).

Acting on an emergency petition from Gestone’s mother, Angelique, the court has temporarily blocked the hospital from performing clinical tests to declare whether the young man is brain dead.

After Tony Gestone was gravely injured when his car struck a tree along the Southern State Parkway on April 9, NUMC physicians stated that Anthony’s brain is “not viable” and sought to conduct an apnea test — a final clinical step in determining brain death, court documents show.

Angelique Gestone, a devout Christian, sued on Friday to stop the testing, citing deeply held religious beliefs that her son is still alive and that such tests would violate her convictions.

Temporary truce and independent evaluation

In a stipulation signed on Monday, both parties agreed to a brief cooling-off period.

Under the agreement, the Gestone family has been granted the right to have their own private neurologist examine Tony on this week, and the hospital has agreed not to conduct a brain perfusion (SPECT) test until that evaluation is complete and the parties reappear in court next week.

To assist in this independent review, the hospital provided the family with a hard drive containing Tony Gestone’s complete medical files. Additionally, the East Meadow hospital clarified in the legal stipulation that there has been “no predetermination of death” by the facility.

Allegations of medical neglect

In her petition to the court, Angelique Gestone leveled serious allegations against NUMC’s management of her son’s care, claiming that for nine days following the accident, the hospital failed to provide him with any nutritional support. She argues that this undermines any clinical assessment of her son’s neurological state.

The petition also claims the family observed “repetitive movement” in Tony Gestone’s fingers and “foot movement” in response to touch, providing video evidence to the court.

Hospital staff, however, maintain that no “appreciable evidence” of brainstem activity has existed since April 10.

Court documents filed by an attorney for the hospital say that Tony Gestone was driving the wrong way on Southern State Parkway and suffered massive head injuries when he slammed into a tree.

“The trauma team observed gross deformity to the left
skull with depressed bone fragments (multiple fractures), active bleeding from skull fractures, including blood drainage from his nose and ears,” the hospital attorney, Douglas K. Stern,, wrote.

“The left frontal skull had obvious depression fractures … As an organ, I am informed that his brain is not viable,” he added.

Stern noted further in the court document that since April 10, “there has been no appreciable evidence supporting a conclusion that there is brain activity to the brainstem.”

The policy dictates that if a family raises a religious or moral objection, the hospital may continue ventilator support as a “reasonable accommodation” for up to 72 hours after death is declared.

However, the family’s legal team is pushing for a much longer window — at least 14 days — noting the standard 72-hour window is insufficient for their religious needs.

For now, the court has ordered NUMC to continue providing all necessary medications — including treatments for hypothyroidism and full nutrition — and to continue treating Anthony “in a manner consistent with that of a person who is alive.”

As the legal proceedings continue, the community has rallied to support the family. A GoFundMe campaign established to cover Gestone’s mounting medical and legal expenses has raised nearly $90,000 in donations.

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