Jahi McMath case in California

[Ralar]

He is not merely representing their interests here. He is facilitating their being able to move a corpse around while it decomposes. This is an uneducated, unconnected mother. $50,000 dollars on CrowdShare isn't maintaining her daughter's body. He is acting as go between between the mother and the money people.

Instead of explaining to her that they did everything they could and that they will file a lawsuit against the hospital for any negligence that lead up to the hemorrhage, he has facilitated a circus and a desecration. Letting a body decompose while allowing your client to maintain her delusion is a lot more than merely advocating an unpopular position. If he could not have convinced her, the ethical action would have been to remove himself from the case before he became a party to moving an unburied corpse around. He probably did not think she would deteriorate so fast and was trying to file a lawsuit based on her being "alive". He would trot out all the "right to life" freaks to argue that brain death is in fact NOT death. There is a bigger malpractice payout in CA if the patient is alive and hurt as opposed to dead.

Greedy, shady, bastard.

I couldn't help myself .. . . .

[bionicmlle]

So... What are the ER docs to do when Jahi's body is transported to ER after she arrests and is likely resuscitated in the field? Treat a dead body and risk a desecration charge? Resuscitate and place central line, etc then go thou this whole legal battle again?!

Seems like it would be in atty's best Interest to send her to ER and start this whole business again all over in another county and/or state.

[Stephanie66]

I doubt any doctor will resuscitate her, nor will any EMT do anything. According to the legal documents, she SMELLS OF DEATH. I think that's a (no pun intended) dead giveaway that something is amiss.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I suspect when her heart finally gives up, it won't be possible to start it beating again in the field. It's beating on borrowed time as it is - if it gives up, it will mean that the automatic pumping action that happens as long as any oxygen is available is broken, which is just... way beyond any amount of shocking it, I'd think? Such failure would mean the heart itself as an organ has finally reached its end, and died?

So she'd be transported somewhere only to be pronounced (obviously) DOA, wouldn't she?

[Ralar]

So... What are the ER docs to do when Jahi's body is transported to ER after she arrests and is likely resuscitated in the field? Treat a dead body and risk a desecration charge? Resuscitate and place central line, etc then go thou this whole legal battle again?!

Seems like it would be in atty's best Interest to send her to ER and start this whole business again all over in another county and/or state.

I imagine that once her heart finally stops beating, it will not be able to be restarted. I cannot imagine performing CPR on a decomposing corpse.

Wouldn't the body just squish under the first responder's hands?

I'm nauseous now.

[bionicmlle]

Not necessarily. Theoretically the heart could start beating regular rhythm again with electric impulse from an AED which are readily available. Would family demand she be put on ECMO? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracorpo ... xygenation). I now don't think they are JW ( mods - ok to change title!) but I do think they are the "whatever technology god offers" type of folks....

[Stephanie66]

They had a huge Christmas, so definitely not JWs. I hope they just let Jahi rest in peace.

[C Potter-Pirbright]

I have a question regarding Jahi's new location. While Jahi's custody has been given to her mother and now to supposedly a Catholic Charity that is taking care of her ( http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/0 ... -hospital/ ) there are laws aren't they regarding the treatment of the body of a deceased body?

I read in a few places that ethically and possibly legally no doctor can perform surgery etc on a dead body. So what does this mean for the facility that has her ? Can they loose their license? And surely they too know a decaying body when they see one?

There really is no dignity in death for this child.

[GawkingToo]

My opinion: The scumbag attorney is doing whatever it takes to keep the family close, so he still represents them when it is time for the malpractice/wrongful death case.

Except that he has said multiple times already that he will not be representing them in a malpractice or wrongful death lawsuit.

EDIT: The most recent source is a news article from yesterday, but I believe this was also expressed in a public letter from either the law firm or the family several days ago. I don't have time to look for it now.

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts ... th-threats

[Koala]

Oh dear god, I can't even...it's time to let this sweet child go in peace. Past time. Hold her hand, tell her you love her and you tried so hard for her, but don't let her literally deteriorate while attached to machines.

[AnywhereButHere]

This whole thing just breaks my heart. Maybe it’s that Jahi’s my son’s age. Maybe it’s because she has such a happy smile in that picture of her that we see all the time. All I think of is that she should be out there, doing things my son is doing. Hanging out with friends, going to school, telling stories about her favorite teacher and complaining about the one that all the kids know is secretly an alien out to get them. She deserves to be alive, but since she is not, she deserves the dignity of being to be laid to rest. Maybe, in the end, that’s what bothers me so much. Like you all have been saying, in her (more than understandable) grief, Jahi’s mother has stripped her daughter of the compassion and dignity that she deserves to have and turned her into a macabre spectacle.

[Buzzard]

I have a question regarding Jahi's new location. While Jahi's custody has been given to her mother and now to supposedly a Catholic Charity that is taking care of her ( http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/0 ... -hospital/ ) there are laws aren't they regarding the treatment of the body of a deceased body?

I read in a few places that ethically and possibly legally no doctor can perform surgery etc on a dead body. So what does this mean for the facility that has her ? Can they loose their license? And surely they too know a decaying body when they see one?

There really is no dignity in death for this child.

Not familiar with california law by any stretch of the imagination, but I couldnt find any criminal statute prohibiting the mutilation or desecration of a corpse. All the statutes seem to be in the "health and safety code" or business practice. I'm assuming that it is the guidelines of medical ethics that prohibit operating on a corpse rather than a legal issue. As far as deciding what to do with a body:

§ 7100. Right to control disposition of remains of deceased person

(a) The right to control the disposition of the remains of a deceased person, the location and conditions of interment, and arrangements for funeral goods and services to be provided, unless other directions have been given by the decedent pursuant to Section 7100.1, vests in, and the duty of disposition and the liability for the reasonable cost of disposition of the remains devolves upon, the following in the order named:

(1) An agent under a power of attorney for health care who has the right and duty of disposition under Division 4.7 (commencing with Section 4600) of the Probate Code, except that the agent is liable for the costs of disposition only in either of the following cases:

(A) Where the agent makes a specific agreement to pay the costs of disposition.

(B) Where, in the absence of a specific agreement, the agent makes decisions concerning disposition that incur costs, in which case the agent is liable only for the reasonable costs incurred as a result of the agent's decisions, to the extent that the decedent's estate or other appropriate fund is insufficient.

(2) The competent surviving spouse.

(3) The sole surviving competent adult child of the decedent or, if there is more than one competent adult child of the decedent, the majority of the surviving competent adult children. However, less than the majority of the surviving competent adult children shall be vested with the rights and duties of this section if they have used reasonable efforts to notify all other surviving competent adult children of their instructions and are not aware of any opposition to those instructions by the majority of all surviving competent adult children.

(4) The surviving competent parent or parents of the decedent. If one of the surviving competent parents is absent, the remaining competent parent shall be vested with the rights and duties of this section after reasonable efforts have been unsuccessful in locating the absent surviving competent parent.

(5) The sole surviving competent adult sibling of the decedent or, if there is more than one surviving competent adult sibling of the decedent, the majority of the surviving competent adult siblings. However, less than the majority of the surviving competent adult siblings shall be vested with the rights and duties of this section if they have used reasonable efforts to notify all other surviving competent adult siblings of their instructions and are not aware of any opposition to those instructions by the majority of all surviving competent adult siblings.

(6) The surviving competent adult person or persons respectively in the next degrees of kinship or, if there is more than one surviving competent adult person of the same degree of kinship, the majority of those persons. Less than the majority of surviving competent adult persons of the same degree of kinship shall be vested with the rights and duties of this section if those persons have used reasonable efforts to notify all other surviving competent adult persons of the same degree of kinship of their instructions and are not aware of any opposition to those instructions by the majority of all surviving competent adult persons of the same degree of kinship.

(7) A conservator of the person appointed under Part 3 (commencing with Section 1800) of Division 4 of the Probate Code when the decedent has sufficient assets.

(8) A conservator of the estate appointed under Part 3 (commencing with Section 1800) of Division 4 of the Probate Code when the decedent has sufficient assets.

(9) The public administrator when the deceased has sufficient assets.

(b)

(1) If a person to whom the right of control has vested pursuant to subdivision (a) has been charged with first- or second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter in connection with the decedent's death and those charges are known to the funeral director or cemetery authority, the right of control is relinquished and passed on to the next of kin in accordance with subdivision (a).

(2) If the charges against the person are dropped, or if the person is acquitted of the charges, the right of control is returned to the person.

(3) Notwithstanding this subdivision, no person who has been charged with first- or second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter in connection with the decedent's death to whom the right of control has not been returned pursuant to paragraph (2) shall have any right to control disposition pursuant to subdivision (a) which shall be applied, to the extent the funeral director or cemetery authority know about the charges, as if that person did not exist.

© A funeral director or cemetery authority shall have complete authority to control the disposition of the remains and to proceed under this chapter to recover usual and customary charges for the disposition when both of the following apply:

(1) Either of the following applies:

(A) The funeral director or cemetery authority has knowledge that none of the persons described in paragraphs (1) to (8), inclusive, of subdivision (a) exists.

(B) None of the persons described in paragraphs (1) to (8), inclusive, of subdivision (a) can be found after reasonable inquiry, or contacted by reasonable means.

(2) The public administrator fails to assume responsibility for disposition of the remains within seven days after having been given written notice of the facts. Written notice may be delivered by hand, United States mail, facsimile transmission, or telegraph.

(d) The liability for the reasonable cost of final disposition devolves jointly and severally upon all kin of the decedent in the same degree of kinship and upon the estate of the decedent. However, if a person accepts the gift of an entire body under subdivision (a) of Section 7155.5, that person, subject to the terms of the gift, shall be liable for the reasonable cost of final disposition of the decedent.

(e) This section shall be administered and construed to the end that the expressed instructions of the decedent or the person entitled to control the disposition shall be faithfully and promptly performed.

(f) A funeral director or cemetery authority shall not be liable to any person or persons for carrying out the instructions of the decedent or the person entitled to control the disposition.

(g) For purposes of this section, "adult" means an individual who has attained 18 years of age, "child" means a natural or adopted child of the decedent, and "competent" means an individual who has not been declared incompetent by a court of law or who has been declared competent by a court of law following a declaration of incompetence.

(h)

(1) For the purpose of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the designation of a person authorized to direct disposition (PADD) on a United States Department of Defense Record of Emergency Data, DD Form 93, as that form exists on December 31, 2011, or its successor form, shall take first priority and be used to establish an agent who has the right and duty of disposition for a decedent who died while on duty in any branch or component of the Armed Forces of the United States, as defined by Section 1481 of Title 10 of the United States Code.

(2) This subdivision shall become operative only if the United States Department of Defense Record of Emergency Data, DD Form 93, and Section 1482© of Title 10 of the United States Code are amended to allow a service member to designate any person, regardless of the relationship of the designee to the decedent, as the agent who has the right of disposition of a service member's remains.

This reads, to me, as the court (and coroner) releasing the body to the mother pursuant to this statute as part of an extended funeral arrangement. The law does provide the state the right to step in at some point to prevent the spread of disease or pathogens and seize the body, but it appears that she can legally do as she pleases for now.

I find it interesting that, unlike the Schiavo situation, there are no videos, pictures, or anything blasted online to support their belief that she is alive and responsive. I'm assuming this is because the pictures would prove what we already know - that she is dead. I fully understand a mother not wanting to put her child in the ground and trying to hold on to every second she can with her child, but she's gone. She's nearing the point where the mother's desire to hold out outweigh's the child's entitlement to dignity. Sometimes the truth is hard, but nothing will bring her back so let nature take its course and get some counseling to try and accept that.

[uber frau]

I find it interesting that, unlike the Schiavo situation, there are no videos, pictures, or anything blasted online to support their belief that she is alive and responsive. I'm assuming this is because the pictures would prove what we already know - that she is dead. I fully understand a mother not wanting to put her child in the ground and trying to hold on to every second she can with her child, but she's gone. She's nearing the point where the mother's desire to hold out outweigh's the child's entitlement to dignity. Sometimes the truth is hard, but nothing will bring her back so let nature take its course and get some counseling to try and accept that.

I agree.

There is no comparison between Terri Schiavo and Jahi. Teri might have been in a PVS, but she was NOT brain dead. She needed feeding (and ventilation in the earlier stages) but her body was capable of maintaining homeostasis. She was capable of some sort of reaction that could be interpreted as a response.

They've had seven (I think), doctors confirm that Jahi is dead. Her brain is a decomposed puddle inside her skull. Even if her mother is so delusional that these facts are completely lost on her, the lawyer is quite cognisant enough to work that one out. He may be many things but, by the looks of his CV, he is not an incompetent lawyer.

[Cone]

In case you didn't see…Jahi is in "bad shape" after the transfer, they are giving her antibiotics, and they had her sitting up according to the lawyer.

I think I'm going to be sick now.

[J'ean Skirt]

He is not merely representing their interests here. He is facilitating their being able to move a corpse around while it decomposes. This is an uneducated, unconnected mother. $50,000 dollars on CrowdShare isn't maintaining her daughter's body. He is acting as go between between the mother and the money people.

Instead of explaining to her that they did everything they could and that they will file a lawsuit against the hospital for any negligence that lead up to the hemorrhage, he has facilitated a circus and a desecration. Letting a body decompose while allowing your client to maintain her delusion is a lot more than merely advocating an unpopular position. If he could not have convinced her, the ethical action would have been to remove himself from the case before he became a party to moving an unburied corpse around. He probably did not think she would deteriorate so fast and was trying to file a lawsuit based on her being "alive". He would trot out all the "right to life" freaks to argue that brain death is in fact NOT death. There is a bigger malpractice payout in CA if the patient is alive and hurt as opposed to dead.

Greedy, shady, bastard.

He advertises on the local radio station. He uses his little girl as part of the ads. They tend to be disguised as public service announcements "always wear a helmet when you're riding your bike" and "don't use your smart phone in public places." Then the final tagline "the best lawyer we hope you'll never need."

I didn't have a lot of respect for him after hearing the ads. Now I think he's an even bigger arsehole.

[lilwriter85]

I agree.

There is no comparison between Terri Schiavo and Jahi. Teri might have been in a PVS, but she was NOT brain dead. She needed feeding (and ventilation in the earlier stages) but her body was capable of maintaining homeostasis. She was capable of some sort of reaction that could be interpreted as a response.

They've had seven (I think), doctors confirm that Jahi is dead. Her brain is a decomposed puddle inside her skull. Even if her mother is so delusional that these facts are completely lost on her, the lawyer is quite cognisant enough to work that one out. He may be many things but, by the looks of his CV, he is not an incompetent lawyer.

I agree there are difference between Terri and Jahi. I know the McMath family and their lawyer have said stuff about how they hope that Jahi can wake up. I think they are getting confused or trying to find hope from cases in which comatose people have woken up. Those cases are totally different from Jahi.

[Ralar]

In case you didn't see…Jahi is in "bad shape" after the transfer, they are giving her antibiotics, and they had her sitting up according to the lawyer.

I think I'm going to be sick now.

The lawyer's latest statement: her body has deteriorated to the point that 'we don't know if she's going to make it.'

Holy fuck! What is wrong with these people!

It's a good think her body is decomposing, or this truly could become a real-life "Weekend at Bernie's"

Bodies of the brain-dead have been maintained on respirators for months or, in rare cases, years. However, once cessation of all brain activity is confirmed, there is no recovery, Rebecca S. Dresser, professor of law and ethics in medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-jahi-mcmath-very-bad-shape-20140108,0,2314481.story#ixzz2ppBDiPJP

[ILoveJellybeans]

Of course she is in bad shape. She is dead, and that is what dead bodies do.

[Coconut Flan]

Every time I see new posts on this thread, I hope it's to say her heart has stopped so this horror story can end. How can they be in the room with the decomposing corpse and not realize it?

They had a huge Christmas, so definitely not JWs. I hope they just let Jahi rest in peace.

No, they aren't. Their church was identified a few pages back as Baptist.

[Daisy]

If the body is decomposing, wouldn't rigor Mortis have set in as well? This whole thing is becoming ghoulish, let the poor girl rest in peace already.

[salex]

If the body is decomposing, wouldn't rigor Mortis have set in as well? This whole thing is becoming ghoulish, let the poor girl rest in peace already.

The medical report defending the hospital against surgeries before she moved mentioned loss of elasticity of the skin and muscle contraction.

I'm with the people who think that if she looked remotely "ok" there would be pictures on facebook, on her websites, etc.

[Alice_Fraggle]

In case you didn't see…Jahi is in "bad shape" after the transfer, they are giving her antibiotics, and they had her sitting up according to the lawyer.

I think I'm going to be sick now.

What kind of quack did they find to give her antibiotics? That is so stupid! How in the WORLD did they make that poor girl sit up, and what do they think that will accomplish?

This is getting way out of hand!

[Koala]

In case you didn't see…Jahi is in "bad shape" after the transfer, they are giving her antibiotics, and they had her sitting up according to the lawyer.

I think I'm going to be sick now.

Me too...that they think antibiotics and sitting up will help this poor child absolutely screams of delusion.

[Coconut Flan]

Giving antibiotics to a corpse has reached a new realm of delusion. Shame on the people encouraging this mother.

[medievalist1980]

If the body is decomposing, wouldn't rigor Mortis have set in as well? This whole thing is becoming ghoulish, let the poor girl rest in peace already.

Rigor mortis sets in and also passes away - so the body is not stiff forever. I would think, however, that until her blood flow stops, it won't set in.