Jahi’s family wants her declared 'alive again’

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Jahi McMath: Family seeks to have brain-death ruling overturned, girl declared alive
Posted: 10/01/2014 05:21:32 PM PDT2 Comments | Updated: about 2 hours ago

http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_26644996/jahi-mcmath-family-seeks-have-brain-death-ruling

OAKLAND -- An attorney for the family of Jahi McMath says new tests show the 13-year-old girl has regained brain activity, and he is asking a Bay Area court to take the unprecedented step of reversing its finding that she is dead.

In court documents filed Tuesday, attorney Christopher Dolan challenges long-standing medical and legal definitions of death on behalf of the Oakland girl, who has been kept on machines that feed her and keep her organs functioning since a medical mishap in December.

Experts say Jahi's recovery would be nothing short of a miracle. Unlike a coma, brain death is the loss of all brain function, an irreversible and universally accepted form of death. Jahi would be the first known person to regain consciousness after a declaration of brain death, experts say.

"It's the only case of its kind ever," Dolan said by phone Wednesday. "Jahi is 'Patient 1.' This is a real person we are talking about, a live person who feels pain. She isn't suffering."

A test last year performed by a court-appointed physician from Stanford showed no brain activity because of the swelling of her brain, according to the court papers. The swelling has receded, Dolan says, and the new tests show something different.

Arthur Caplan, director of the division of medical ethics at New York University's School of Medicine, said any recovery from brain death would be a first and in this case "miraculous since she was declared dead three times."

"This would force us to re-examine the whole nature of death in America," Caplan said. "But I don't believe it."

Attorneys for UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, where Jahi was first treated, have filed documents asserting that "there are no substantive grounds and no available procedures for any challenge" to the court's finding that Jahi is brain dead.

The new court filings are the first major development in Jahi's story in months.

More articles as the story is picked up:

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking...i-mcmath-family-seeks-have-brain-death-ruling

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matie...s-family-wants-her-declared-alive-5795112.php

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...math-petitioning-to-haver-her-declared-alive/

The family planned a press conference for Friday when they plan to provide evidence that Jahi is not brain dead.

If anyone finds out more info about the Friday press conference, please post it.
 
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matie...s-family-wants-her-declared-alive-5795112.php
“I have medical experts, including world-class experts on brain death, who will testify she is not brain dead,” attorney Chris Dolan said Wednesday, calling a judge’s refusal last year to compel a hospital to care for her “a grave injustice.”

If a judge sides with the family, it could lead to Jahi being cared for at state taxpayers’ expense — though Dolan insists that’s not the reason for his filing Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court."


I think Dolan could have used a better phrase than "a grave injustice" when referring to a brain dead individual. To me, the grave injustice is that this poor child has not been laid to rest.

I wonder what kind of "new test" they are using to indicate improvement. Based upon some of then authorities or experts they have aligned themselves with, I find any claims they make to be dubious at best. Sounds more like the family funds are running low and they need to drum up some publicity. Donation have dropped significantly and many former supporters are not happy with the family's behavior.
 
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matie...s-family-wants-her-declared-alive-5795112.php

"Dolan said he would neither confirm nor deny published reports that she is in the pediatric intensive care unit at St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J.

Nor would Dolan say who is paying for Jahi’s stay. He says the latest legal maneuver is not about money, but he acknowledged that “she would be eligible for the same state benefits as every other person not brain dead on a ventilator, and who gets full medical care.”

He added that the family wanted Jahi to be looked after in California “and not have somebody pull the ventilator on her if she is in the hospital.”

If Jahi is declared alive, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland could be responsible for her medical costs."


I was under the impression that she was getting free care courtesy of the hospital that she is in. I'm wondering if the family has been less than gracious to the staff at this hospital and is looking for a way to get Jahi into another hospital and have the tax payers foot the bill.
 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_26644996/jahi-mcmath-family-seeks-have-brain-death-ruling

Dolan said his experts who have evaluated Jahi and will testify in court are "certified neurologists, pediatric neurologists and a prominent world expert on brain death." He wouldn't name the experts and they aren't named in court papers, though Dolan said he plans to file the experts' declarations in court Friday. He is asking Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo to hear the petition to reconsider earlier determinations that Jahi has no brain function.

Attorneys for UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, where Jahi was first treated, have filed documents asserting that "there are no substantive grounds and no available procedures for any challenge" to the court's finding that Jahi is brain dead.

BBM. ~KZ
 
If Jahi is declared alive, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland could be responsible for her medical costs.

Hospital officials did not return our call seeking comment. However, in their court filing, attorneys for Children’s said Grillo’s ruling upholding the death declaration was “well-supported in fact and law.”

What’s more, they said, Dolan missed the deadline to request a rehearing by seven months, and therefore the court no longer has jurisdiction to hear it.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matie...s-family-wants-her-declared-alive-5795112.php

BBM. ~KZ
 
The family maintains that Jahi responds to voice commands and touch. The new court documents say the teen has entered into puberty and started her menstrual cycle.

An Oct. 9 hearing is set between attorneys for McMath, Children's Hospital and Alameda County.

Dolan called the upcoming court case "the greatest challenge of my legal career."

"I never gave up on this family," said Dolan, the family's attorney since December. "I wouldn't stick my neck out without concrete proof."

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking...i-mcmath-family-seeks-have-brain-death-ruling

BBM. ~KZ
 
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very curious about the new medical test.....:waitasec:
 
very curious about the new medical test.....:waitasec:

In addition to anecdotal observations, Dolan has said there is MRI and EEG evidence. We shall see......
 
Her family wants her declared alive again? There are new test?
Anxious to learn more about this.
 
The family maintains that Jahi responds to voice commands and touch. The new court documents say the teen has entered into puberty and started her menstrual cycle.

An Oct. 9 hearing is set between attorneys for McMath, Children's Hospital and Alameda County.

Dolan called the upcoming court case "the greatest challenge of my legal career."

"I never gave up on this family," said Dolan, the family's attorney since December. "I wouldn't stick my neck out without concrete proof."

David DeBolt and Kristin J. Bender cover breaking news. Follow them at Twitter.com/daviddebolt and Twitter.com/kjbender.
 
Hopefully one of our attorney posters will stop by to comment on the 11 page court filing. I am quite interested in learning whether Children's Hospital attorneys are correct that the courts no longer have jurisdiction over this matter, and that the deadline for filing an appeal is 7 months past.

I'm thinking this will either drag out for many months in court and the media, or it will be quickly dismissed by the courts (but still drag on in the media).

Also QUITE interested to hear who the experts are that Dolan references, and to see what reports they file with the courts tomorrow.

If anyone hears anything about when the family's press conference is tomorrow, please post.
 
If Jahi is declared alive, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland could be responsible for her medical costs.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matie...s-family-wants-her-declared-alive-5795112.php

And that could be a MOST substantial amount of $$, given the care that she has presumably received since being leaving Children's January 5, 2014, and $$ going forward.

As NW originally publicly stated in her Essence Magazine interview, having Jahi declared alive again is about qualifying for and receiving State health insurance $$ and other sources of public benefits. (Probably SSI, etc.)

This plan to file to have her declared "alive" again has been brewing for many, many months. It will be interesting to see where it goes.

Additionally, if the family wants to file "wrongful death" suit, I believe they only have until Dec 10 or so for the 1 year statute of limitations. There may be more to that-- maybe one of our attorneys will comment.

I wonder if they will also file a wrongful death lawsuit by December, to preserve the statute. That's kind of a "cover all your bases" thing, IMO-- if she's legally dead, they have a civil suit, and if she is declared alive, they still have a civil suit.
 
Nothing posted by Dr. Paul Byrne yet......but wait for it! I'm sure he has something to say about this!
 
A new MRI, he says, showed electrical activity in her brain that suggests brain death is not "irreversible" as previously thought.

The family insists that she responds to touch and voice commands.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...ly-petitions-declared-alive-article-1.1961112

If a judge sides with the family, it could lead to Jahi being cared for at state taxpayers’ expense — though Dolan insists that’s not the reason for his filing Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court.

Nor would Dolan say who is paying for Jahi’s stay. He says the latest legal maneuver is not about money, but he acknowledged that “she would be eligible for the same state benefits as every other person not brain-dead on a ventilator, and who gets full medical care.”

He added that the family wanted Jahi to be looked after in California “and not have somebody pull the ventilator on her if she is in the hospital.”

If Jahi is declared alive, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland could be responsible for her medical costs.


http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/10/jahi_mcmath_s_family_want_teen_declared_alive.html

"Medical experts, including world-class experts on brain death ... will testify she is not brain-dead," Chris Dolan, the family’s attorney, told the news station.

Dolan told CBS " ... there is visual and EEG evidence of brain activity that will be shared at a planned press conference Friday."

** 1:54 sec news video at this link. Experts already calling for independent, court appointed neurologists to conduct separate testing.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matie...s-family-wants-her-declared-alive-5795112.php
 
Updates from Uncle Omari Sealey now on "Keep Jahi McMath on Life Support" facebook site. This link shared.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_26644996/jahi-mcmath-family-seeks-have-brain-death-ruling

KZ note- I do wish the Contra Costa times would not characterize what happened to Jahi last December as a "medical mishap". Sigh. That is far, far from being established. We know there were complications. All complications are not necessarily "mishaps". Perhaps this is why THIS particular article was chosen by the Uncle to share. Most of the other articles do not characterize the circumstances of last December as a "medical mishap." (Being a health care professional, I'm kind of sensitive to the way things are characterized, or mis-characterized.)
 
Updates from Uncle Omari Sealey now on "Keep Jahi McMath on Life Support" facebook site. This link shared.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_26644996/jahi-mcmath-family-seeks-have-brain-death-ruling

KZ note- I do wish the Contra Costa times would not characterize what happened to Jahi last December as a "medical mishap". Sigh. That is far, far from being established. We know there were complications. All complications are not necessarily "mishaps". Perhaps this is why THIS particular article was chosen by the Uncle to share. Most of the other articles do not characterize the circumstances of last December as a "medical mishap." (Being a health care professional, I'm kind of sensitive to the way things are characterized, or mis-characterized.)

Is that really a loaded term? When I google it, the definition that comes up at the top of the page is "an unlucky accident." I always took "mishap" to refer to any unfortunate occurrence without any comment on blame.
 
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