Family wants to keep life support for girl brain dead after tonsil surgery #4

[Snoods]

Yes, by Calif law the cap is $250 K for wrongful death: it can go as high as $33 million (I think I read?) for severe "disability" damages (such as being on a ventilator).

Thank you :seeya:! I wanted to be sure I understood it correctly.

 

[Herat]

I'm no lawyer, but I agree !00%. Have been wondering if this attempt to redefine death as 'disability' is an engineered test case for this higher amount by the lawyer (who quite possibly also encourages his clients in this bent)...it would appear that he's mentioned those two numbers to his clients.

Yes. This is the entire reason Dolan is there.

1/3 of $30 million.

 

[fruity]

Fruity, I applaud you for having this discussion with your teen children!

As for updating Wills, this is a separate issue. You can find the forms for your state on the net...download, print, and execute them. They are not part of your Will (which we know from old movies could be read months later <g>).

In addition, you might want to consider a DNR.

And finally, imo, it is best to put your wishes in writing for disposition of your remains in an envelope taped to the front door jamb...altho many seem to prefer the freezer for such docs. ;-) Point is, you want those wishes (along with your Directives) easily found and read, should they be needed in any situation including an emergency.

Example from my state of California:

There are two basic kinds of health care documents: the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, naming a trusted person to direct your health care if you are unable to do so yourself, and the Living Will, setting out the types of medical treatment you would or would not like to receive in certain situations. You can also specify who you would is authorized to direct the disposition of your remains. In California, these two documents are combined into a single form called an Advance Health Care Directive (AHCD).

More here:

http://www.saclaw.lib.ca.us/pages/living-wills.aspx

I am not a lawyer so this post is meant only to suggest to its readers that you check your own State law and consult with an atty re your personal concerns.

~jmo~

Thank you so much for this information! I'm in Australia so i will have to look up the links for my state here. It's always good to know exactly what I need to do.

I'll admit that after I finished talking to my youngest I left the room and sobbed for a long while. The thought of someone else having my baby's heart was too much for me. I remembered my first ultrasound, seeing and hearing the little blip of his heart and I thought of Jahi. Because when it all comes down to it, no matter how much their attorney infuriates me, no matter how much I disagree with nailah's actions, this is her baby. It's a cruel world that takes a beautiful little girl and lets this happen.

 

[momrids6]

On the way to Ohio, how's the weather there? I would hope all the news agencies would have their reporters checking out the Oakland airport. I think, though, New York may have been a smoke screen.

yes- as private planes have to post a flight plan.
ETA: I picked Cinci, as I forgot where Byrne is- but for an estimate:

The flight time from Cincinnati, Ohio to Oakland, California is:

4 hours, 30 minutes

 

[SophieRose]

I don't know the answer to that. But since they let the mother take the body, presumably, if there is such a time constraint, they're not going to enforce it. I have been wondering about the details of this myself since I read the coroner saying they could release the body to the family to dispose of. It seems to me that failing to dispose of the body by an appropriate method withing a certain time frame would violate the law. But maybe, if it's in a facility and not presenting a health risk, they can do as they will. Disturbing precedent all around on this one, I'm afraid. jmo

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/04/us/a-brain-is-dead-a-heart-beats-on.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1&

Lt. Riddic Bowers of the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau said that once the bureau issued a death certificate and a release form, a deceased person’s relatives were free to dispose of the body according to their wishes.

But there are laws as to disposing bodies, once the heart stops beating you can't just bury it in the backyard.

 

[Herat]

I don't know that they HAVE to do an autopsy. The laws are here http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=27001-28000&file=27490-27512 but very dense! But it's going to be problematic for their lawsuit if the coroner can't ever do an investigation. That evidence has been disappearing by the day anyway, and who knows the condition by the time her heart stops. They may be relying on witness reports without any sort of accurate autopsy.

I'm going to assume when her heart stops beating, they will call a funeral home (after calling Dolan). The funeral home is certainly going to notify the coroner's office, who will then sign the legal autopsy consent. The funeral home will not risk final disposition without the coroner being involved.

 

[Yoda]

There are so many facets to this situation. CA issued a death certificate, but the coroner can not perform an autopsy. Mom took full responsibility of Jahi. Is she now considered dead by the state of California? And if so, then there is no disability law suit correct? And if an autopsy can not be performed in a timely manner to determine an accurate cause of death, how can they sue CHO for malpractice? Did they just financially shoot themselves in the foot?

 

[Logger]

Just saw this on my local news app:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?se...sleuths.com/forums/images/smilies/loveyou.gif

 

[jjenny]

I think the only state she would not be considered legally dead is New Jersey.
So if they managed to take her to New Jersey, would they be then able to argue that she is severely disabled instead of dead?

 

[Karmady]

Bed time for me, peeps. Night all!

 

[Snoods]

ITA. And their pain makes them want revenge, as the interview indicated. That mother wants CHO to pay. She'd like them ruined. It's just unfortunate because we don't know the real story, and hell is being brought down on this hospital devoted to children's care. I can understand wanting to see them suffer after what she's been through, but if someone would have just stepped in and tried to let time and grief take their course rather than pursuing various agendas....this would be a different story. JMO.

I agree. I can totally understand them wanting the hospital to pay if they are found to be at fault. They SHOULD pay if they are at fault. But I find Omari talking about how much more money Jahi is worth on a vent than deceased to be disgusting.

 

[vlpate]

Dolan says regular work insurance will pay for outside facility... really?

 

[momrids6]

I think the only state she would not be considered legally dead is New Jersey.
So if they managed to take her to New Jersey, would they be then able to argue that she is severely disabled instead of dead?

maybe one of the attorneys know? She has been declared deceased, death cert and all- I think that makes her deceased in NJ too, but at this point, nothing would surprise me. They have a process and forms the family has to go through/do for religious exemption.

 

[vlpate]

Just saw this on my local news app:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?se...sleuths.com/forums/images/smilies/loveyou.gif

Page not found...is it just me?

 

[Yoda]

Bed time for me, peeps. Night all!

Me too. WS has been acting up for me all night. (Juicy, are you juicin' up the works?)

 

[Herat]

Dolan says regular work insurance will pay for outside facility... really?

What is "regular work insurance"? Does he mean the mother's health insurance policy from her job at Home Depot is going to pay for care for a legally dead person?

If they pay for that, are they also going to be paying CHO for the additional 20 days of care given her?

Is he twisting their arm too with threat of a pain and suffering suit?

 

[vlpate]

Apologies if this has been posted...Jahi being transported (photo)

An ambulance pulls into the secure area of Children's Hospital Oakland, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. The ambulance removed the body of 13-year-old Jahi McMath and she now is in the custody of her family. They are not disclosing her location. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group)

 

[momrids6]

Dolan says regular work insurance will pay for outside facility... really?

home depot switched all its employees that are not full time to O-care...

 

[vlpate]

What is "regular work insurance"? Does he mean the mother's health insurance policy from her job at Home Depot is going to pay for care for a legally dead person?

If they pay for that, are they also going to be paying CHO for the additional 20 days of care given her?

Is he twisting their arm too with threat of a pain and suffering suit?

Yeah, well, he's a lawyer so who knows what he means. My health insurance never had a provision for my care after declaration of death...maybe I missed it.

 

[momrids6]

Apologies if this has been posted...Jahi being transported (photo)

Maybe that employee should not have been quite so visible, imo. Click on the image in the article; it will get quite large

http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_24850098/jahi-mcmath-attorney-tells-tv-station-child-will