Need Input For What Type of Attorney/Lawsuit

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psalms
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Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 6:24 pm

Need Input For What Type of Attorney/Lawsuit

Postby psalms » Sun Nov 10, 2013 10:02 pm

I'm not sure what type of attorney or type of lawsuit I should be going for. Attorneys I have called also have told me they dont know what type of lawsuit either! A lot involved and 3 different states. I know this is long and I apologize for that and thank you for taking the time .....

My teenage daughter had cancer and was going to Mayo for treatments. We live in another state. Right after her 4th round of chemo (brutal) a person we had never seen before came into her hospital room and interrogated her for 10 minutes without my knowledge or consent. This person then identified herself to me and my daughter as a child psychiatrist. I found out later on, after damage was done and DHS involved, that she was not a child psychiatrist but rather a student in the program. This person demanded that I sign consent forms for her to start my daughter "immediately" on 2 anti-depressants. I told her my daughter just had another round of chemo and was having severe side effects and had also had a couple doses of morphine after the first pain killers did nothing. I asked if she had spoke with the medical team about putting her on these drugs on top of her other drugs. She said no but that most of the kids with cancer are on them and insisted again that she start my daughter immediately on them. I said the regular psychologist that has been seeing my daughter just saw her and said nothing of the sort and that we were to be going home. That I want a second opinion or third, and want a meeting with daughter's medical team and psychologist and social worker who had been involved with my daughters case from the beginning.

She told me she had lined up a meeting with medical team and psychologist and social worker for the next morning. Next morning she said they were not really coming. Had the social worker there though and a security guard standing in the hall, and a guard nurse with my daughter. Threatened me to either sign the form or check my daughter into the LOCKED psychiatric ward (which is considered to be off hospital grounds at that point - which I did not know at the time). Threatened that if I did not agree to one of those choices that the law is on her side and she will get an judges order - that the law is on her side. I spoke to the doctor on call, as it was now Friday and regular medical team was gone until Monday. They strongly suggested I voluntarily take my daughter to the psych ward and things would be straightened out by morning - or the latest by Monday since was the weekend. I took her over.

When I did that, this student called my ex husband without informing me of this, who resides 5 states away and has been estranged this girls entire life, wanting nothing to do with her or her sister. He has history of abuse with me and the kids when they were very young, alcoholism, and psychiatric problems (was even in psychiatric hospital for a time) and has been on many different anti psychotic medications for his manic depression and personality disorder. This student asked him to come and get my daughter from the hospital and take her home with him. She also put in a call to DHS where we are from and reported me as refusing to provide my daughter critical psychiatric care. Also put in her report that I was acting with severe paranoia and may benefit from psychiatric care because I was questioning her recommendation of these drugs for my cancer daughter right off of chemo and on morphine, wanting to converse with the medical team first. She had diagnosed me as well as my daughter with her very brief first time meeting with me. My ex came and got her and put in a motion with the court the day before he picked her up to start an emergency temporary custody hearing. But more to the story before he came....

When me and my older daughter went to visit my sick daughter on the psych ward the next day I was allowed to see her alone in her room with a camera, for 45 minutes. Then I asked them to let her sister join us too and they said since sister was under 18 they could not allow her on the ward but would let us be together to visit in an office right inside the ward at the end of the hall. (they did allow her on the ward and in this room with camera the night before). After her sister joined us the nurse suggested I go out in the hall off the ward and let the girls be alone remaining 10 minutes of visiting hours. I thought that was nice and agreed. About an hour later and i was getting frantic what was happening and no one would come to the door to answer my calls, a group of police, security guards and a resident psych doc and 3 other people I dont know what they were, came to me in the hall and told me I needed to leave immediately and was not to try to contact either of my daughters, that they had taken my older daughter to emergency to have her checked out and assessed as well, and were looking for another place for her to stay and would not tell me where she was when they found somewhere for her. That I was to go to my motel and wait until someone calls me to meet with me and my daughters together - after both girls had been assessed and the psych people determined what was best treatment plan for my sick daughter.

After 3 days and my unanswered repeated calls and many voice mails to head of psychiatry and social workers etc, I was finally told by the nurse when I called for an update on my sick daughter that they had released her to her father to go home with him and would give me no other information than that. I did not know he was even called before that. They told me absolutely nothing and never tried to contact me. He had never been there before, never visited my daughter in hospital in the months she had cancer and treatments, never even spoke to doctors or nurses. I went to all appointments and gave her treatments and meds at home etc. I filled and signed all paperwork and consent forms and was on record as her primary and only caretaker. It was also mandatory for me to take the training in giving shots and everything she needed but required nothing of him before sending her out the door with him.

When he took both my daughters, he flew them on a commercial airplane and put my sick daughter at GREAT risk of infections that could have killed her or change in air pressure could have killed her by dislodging one of the blood clots she had and was on blood thinners for. She had "complications" from the time she was taken and is documented in medical records. He took them with only the clothes they had on. Took my sick daughter from her entire support system - all her friends, teachers, neighbors, her dog and her mom her home (her life) - to a place completely foreign to her, all strangers, no friends, and big change in environment that also caused a lot of complications.

DHS started an investigation but only took and recorded one side, student at Mayo and ex husband, and completely ignored and left out everything I gave him. He said to me that he does not have time to go through the mounds of paper work my ex's attorney was sending him and is going to make it a founded case, that if I dont agree with it I can appeal it and take it up with a judge in court - like it was no big deal. And that my name would go on the child abuse registry and would stay on registry for 10 years if I did not win an appeal. I was never charged with anything and never before a court of law or a jury. I did appeal and won on the evidence I sent in to the appellant judge. I didnt even have to appear in person.

Between my ex and his friends and hired counselor where he is from and paid big $$ to write affidavits and recommendations to the court, and this students writings in daughters medical records with Mayo letterhead, he was awarded temp custody of both girls while I was absolutely ripped up one side and down the other by judge in front of my older daughter. He yelled so loudly at me he was bright red and spitting. I was a "monster" and a 'child abuser." And this was only a temp custody hearing - next was to be a custody trial to make it permanent one way or the other.

My ex used all to his advantage and started a restraining order against me and false police reports where he lives. He ended all treatments at Mayo and only took her to hospital near him when things got bad or when they wanted to do more "exploratory" surgeries and biopsies. Docs there told me they did this to "verify that Mayo had correctly diagnosed and to determine a treatment plan for her." Unbelievable. And sickening.

The only chance this girl had to survive this type of cancer was a stem cell transplant and with that was given 10% chance of survival. However, her main doc at Mayo said she is responding so well to treatment she is doing "phenomenally well." I dont know whatever happened to her stem cells as they had been harvested from her at Mayo and kept there ready to go when the time was right - which was to take place just 20 days or less from the day he took her.

She never got her stem cell transplant and went through abuse by him and torture with more surgeries and specimen taking for their research projects. This was a very rare form of cancer and only 20 cases in last 25 years. He also halted all communication between me and my daughters. He even had the social worker at the hospital there where he took them to so against me that she called me 5 states away and threatened me not to come anywhere near my daughter or to the hospital there and that neither daughter wanted anything to do with me. She also demanded that I hand my daughters dog over to a person my ex was sending to my door to get her and would put the dog on a plain to ship her down to him for my daughter, that I was cruel to keep her from her beloved dog. She said if I refuse to do that she was going to go tell my daughter soon as we hang up that i got rid of her dog. And that is what my daughter said the social worker and my ex told her when I got down there.

I was finally told that she had been in hospital for a couple weeks with serious complications but that she was not in danger of dieing so dont come. I went down there and took her dog to her in the hospital. I walked right into her room and visited with her. She started to cry soon as she saw me and was so glad I came. My ex called security and the police and ranted and raved obscenities at me from in the hall and surrounded by police so I left so my poor daughter would not be put through any more of his b.s. She told them she wanted to see me again the next day. When I went to visit her next morning she went into a coma and died 2 days later of complications, not the cancer. My ex was given the say whether to remove her from life support when she went into coma. He was very insistent she be taken off. He had a life insurance policy on her - and got out of paying a dime of the expenses and medical costs while she was in my care, I am in debt for the rest of my life. In our divorce decree he was responsible for 90% of medical costs when the insurance ran out. Insurance covered sometimes 20% and sometimes 80% depending what it was. And had a lifetime family cap of one million $$. It was getting very close to that cap. Just one of her many drugs cost $600 per dose twice a day and this one was not covered by insurance. I sold everything I could sell and used every resource to get her whatever she needed. He was not paying child support on time which had always been a problem but was crucial during my daughters illness and I had to buy her medicines that were not covered and for our travels to from treatments etc.. He had 4 more years to pay child support and alimony. He makes more than most of my daughters doctors so support payments amounts he was paying was not putting a crimp in his finances by any means. When he took the girls he stopped all support and I lost everything and even went homeless for a few months just trying pay for her funeral and burial costs, and to keep up on debts from cancer, on my part time income.

Medical malpractice? Against Mayo? Against other hospital?
Medical negligence? Against Mayo? Against other hospital?
DHS incompetence ........ ??

I have been told by a couple of attorneys that no court will ever do anything to my ex or his attorney even though they lied through their teeth in court and on court documents.

Any input is appreciated.

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LindaJM
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Re: Need Input For What Type of Attorney/Lawsuit

Postby LindaJM » Mon Nov 11, 2013 9:50 pm

I'm so sorry for your loss and the financial problems you're faced with. I cannot help but wonder how this all got started. What did they object about your care of your daughter? Was it just that you didn't want her to take an antidepressant that wasn't even prescribed by a doctor?

How old were your daughters? How old is your oldest daughter now?

I would keep on attorney shopping. Just because two didn't want the case and made excuses for not helping you, doesn't mean that you won't find someone else willing to help. Have you looked for an attorney outside your county?

And yes, it does sound like medical malpractice. Do you know where the person who started this works?

Ultimately, there's nothing that will fix what happened to you, or give you back those precious months with your daughter. But I do hope you're able to get financial justice from the people who were so cruel to you.
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Please keep in mind that none of us are lawyers and we can't give legal advice. We are simply telling you what we would do in a similar situation. It is to your advantage to get a lawyer.

"Evil flourishes when good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke ... so try to do something to change the system ...

psalms
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Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 6:24 pm

Re: Need Input For What Type of Attorney/Lawsuit

Postby psalms » Tue Nov 12, 2013 11:39 am

Thank you for your reply Linda. To answer your questions -

Demanding a second opinion and a consult with daughters medical team and psychologist before consenting to anti depressants being added to her already heavy cancer drug regimen by this student was how it all got started. Student in psychiatry was on a power trip and had a way too big ego. After this student in psychiatry at Mayo started the allegations, called my ex and had taken both my daughters from me at the psych ward, my ex started with his attorney to make a paper trail of massive amounts of accusations against me - I was starving my daughters, hit them, called them filthy names, threw chairs and books at them, would not take my sick daughter to her treatments, all sorts of horrible things - but things that would be very easy to disprove. And I did disprove them but went completely ignored. Ex had not even been in our home or to our town in years but he supposedly witnessed these things and the conditions of my home according to these allegations he made to police where he is from and DHS where I am from. He also wrote in his handwriting on police reports where he lives that I did these things and had the girls sign it next to his name. This got him his restraining orders against me there and judge there appointed him as their guardian ad lidem. No attorney I spoke to has ever heard of a judge appointing one parent, an ex spouse, during a custody battle, guardian ad lidem of the children! That's another issue.

DHS put all these allegations in their report but stuck with only the "preventing critical psychiatric care" as the allegation they were looking into and not preventing medical care or physical abuse and other things. DHS also added my older daughter to the same allegation page on their form with the same allegation "preventing critical psychiatric care." I have no idea how they could do that, on what grounds. My sick daughter's medical and psych records alone verified that I had not prevented any care, but in fact facilitated it. Furthermore, She was weighed and assessed, seen by head of psychology dept, given physicals, PET scans, x-rays and blood test etc on a very regular basis (few times a month and daily when in hospital, except xray and pet scans 2 months) so record of how well she was cared for is all there and a number of diff docs, nurses, social workers, psychologist, lab, etc. (all mandatory reporters too by the way) were eye witness and wrote in her medical file their findings and assessment of her.

So the answer to question is my ex and his attorney's lies and the lies of preventing my daughter critical care by the student who started it all is what everything was based on with both DHS and then judge in temp custody hearing. Student had added to her report that my sick daughter had suicidal ideation but that daughter said she had no plan to act on it. Which is also b.s. that my daughter had suicidal ideation. I knew my daughter very well and her will to live - not to kill herself !! She may have been preoccupied with thoughts 'about' death (she was facing her death if treatment did not work) but she was NOT thinking of suicide. Of course my daughter is no longer here to speak and no one had her speak during time of DHS investigation and court. All to their advantage. She was never put on any anti depressants either by the way. Not at Mayo and not at the new counselors my ex took her to down there. Miraculous recovery! It is in all reports by everyone else beside that student that she did not need them and was not depressed wanting to harm herself. my ex's attorney spun that to mean that my daughter was now happy and no LONGER depressed because she was away from me and living with her father. Judge bought that too.

So with this students report and ex's reports and the fact my ex had already taken her across the country and got a medical doctors recommendation from down there that she should not be traveling until she is in the clear with remission, judge was against me before I walked into that courtroom. That statement by ex's doc down there that alone should have gone against ex and mayo student for taking her like they did and what they did to her. Instead, it just worked further against me (according to judge) as an uncaring self serving monster to want to have my sick daughter travel across country back home while so sick. My ex never even got a word said to him about taking her in exactly those circumstances - instead, he was a hero. Ex's attorney added in court that my daughter was on her death bed at that time (lie at the time) and her last dying wish was to spend her last days with her loving father (also a lie and not told by my daughter or her handwriting). Judge had a hay day yelling at me with that too. That was like the final straw with the judge to order she stay with him until all her treatments were complete and was safe for her to travel. Then, in his Order, then she was to "come home with me and ex was not to try and prevent that". Which makes all of this even more confusing. If judge was saying to me and the entire courtroom that I was a self serving monster who cared nothing about my daughter and that I did all these horrible things to her, why on earth would he order that she be returned to me AT ALL??

That statement in his order was what gave me the rights to her body after she died though and to bring her ashes home to bury after a funeral with all her friends, teachers, classmates and relatives. I didn't have enough money to fly her body back here so had to have her cremated to get her back here to have a funeral for her and to bury. This also weighs on my mind a lot. The thought of burning my baby's body. I wanted her whole, and a nice casket for her, wearing her favorite clothes and to put a few favorite things with her. I am not "against" cremation for those who do want this. But would never have even considered doing this with her under any normal circumstances. This was also hard for her friends to deal with. The plot I found for her will allow us to be buried together if I too am cremated. So that is comforting in a sense. I have a hard time with thought of cremation for any of my children and myself but want this for me when I die so we can be buried together. Not morbid thoughts as some may think. Just reality of what has happened and what's to come.

My sick daughter was barely 14 and her sister was 16 going to turn 17, now 18.

I have looked and called attorneys in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri with no luck. I have only called ones who I found through internet searches for medical malpractice and had represented someone who had damages from Mayo. I cant find anything similar to my case though. All I can find are people who had clear cut cases such as wrong leg was amputated sort of things. Mine, beside medical malpractice, involves custody, DHS, mounds of medical reports, psych reports, 3 different states (where me and my daughters lived, where hospital was, and where ex lived and other hospital he took her to). I think these attorneys are thinking it would just be too much to go against cause they are all intertwined. And of course the fact that going up against Mayo's many high powered attorneys on top of it all would probably be a deterrent too? Either that or nobody wants to actually do the work on a case now a days. Has to be an easy slam dunk to take a case. Or to put up tens of thousands up as retainer up front - which i have not been asked or hinted at to do. (I do realize malpractice is usually done on contingency basis)

The person who started this, the student in psychiatry at Mayo worked at Mayo in Minnesota at that time through her internship. She was a resident (a student) in child psychiatry program. She could not be found on the Mayo website list of doctors because she was an intern and not a licensed psychiatrist. She got her M.D. however, but was non practicing. She never practiced as a medical doctor but had to get her MD to be accepted into the psychiatry program. So, her reports are signed with MD after her name which also made it appear that she was an expert and a licensed child psychiatrist. The judge and ex's attorney and ex all referred to her as "expert" and "child psychiatrist" and "at one of most well known and respected hospitals in world, Mayo". Judge accused me of "thinking you know more than an expert at world renown Mayo". Spitting in my face when raging at me while on the stand trying to tell the real story. Oh HOW I wish I had a video of the whole thing. You would never guess it was done in this country. There is a transcript but cost is in the hundreds to get it. And what would I do with it.

fatherofthree
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Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 1:15 pm

Re: Need Input For What Type of Attorney/Lawsuit

Postby fatherofthree » Wed Nov 13, 2013 10:23 am

Try one of the 1-800 numbers for attorneys. IF there is a case to be made with $ for the attorney they will take the case. If there is no case they won't take it.
DISCLAIMER: I am not an attorney and am not providing legal advice.

psalms
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 6:24 pm

Re: Need Input For What Type of Attorney/Lawsuit

Postby psalms » Thu Nov 14, 2013 2:00 pm

Thanks for your reply fatherofthree. I thought it would be that simple too! But what I am getting from the ones I have spoken to say they are not sure what kind of case it would be exactly. I guess there is just too much involved. And I'm sure when the part about the ex is brought into it they really shy away from it. I am guessing they are seeing a mine field of added dirt to navigate through in a court setting that would just take the focus off the medical issue too far off track. Although a GOOD attorney would have much experience with tougher cases this should not deter a good attorney, and my case has too much evidence on my side, I still think they tend to stay away from cases that will be a lot more work. Maybe the newer ones just starting out would take it easier. But going against all of Mayo's attorneys - that would be a pretty big gamble to have a green one take Mayo's big guns on.

The GOOD attorneys with the multi million dollar win cases - I dont have tens of thousands to offer them up front to take the case. And the little guys just starting out probably dont have the kind of money it would take to get something like this started.


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