Legal justice lies in hands of the slick, rich(2)

A more credible, honest lawyer, who offers free legal advice once a week at a local coffee house in the neighborhood of Highland Park, told me the case was complicated, not because it lacked merit, but because the complexities that surrounded it.

Based in Pasadena, attorney Neil Fraser told me that even though the case could be filed, because in California the law allows medical malpractice discovery three years after a wrong is found, lawyers of Beverly Hills-based Cedars Sinai could, and most likely, will argue that the case lacks merit on the basis of the pre-condition of my brother, and the serious injuries that surrounded the case. They would ask the judge to dismiss the complaint.

Fraser said the Cedars’ lawyers could also argue, and probably successfully, that two years have gone since Ernesto’s passing, and any possible wrongful death finding should have been filed at least one year after his death. Even though I possess all my brother’s medical record while he stayed at Cedars Sinai, a medical expert must study them to ensure there was malpractice, or medical pitfalls in the post-surgical treatment before filing a lawsuit.

Fraser declined to take my brother’s case. However, he advised me to consult another lawyer whom may be willing to work on it.

That’s when I realized that in order for me to levy a legal war against Cedars Sinai, I would have to pay many thousands of dollars to someone willing to work in this thorny legal matter. And depending on the strengths and weaknesses of my case, and the ability of my lawyer to bring all the evidence, and to convince the judge, or a jury, a ruling in my brother’s favor is unsure at best.

I also called David Geffen, another lawyer who works on American with Disabilities cases. His secretary politely explained me his practice does not take medical malpractice cases.

Having explained all these matters, I haven’t quit on the case. I still cling to a flickering flame of hope that someone, out of real professional commitment to reach a small, albeit late victory in the name of the disabled community in Los Angeles, can help me push past the legal challenge Ernesto’s medical case has brought to me.

Because if Ernesto’s matter is not even filed as it should in a court of law, there will be no legal precedent that would help prevent potentially deadly medical situations from happening again in L.A. hospitals. Particularly against the fragile and disabled. And no one would be held accountable for their medical faults.

Legal justice lies in hands of the slick, rich(1)

Opinion
By Alfredo Santana.

After several failed attempts to hire a lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice in relation to my brother’s painful death at Cedars Sinai Medical Center two years ago, I began to realize that justice is in the hands of institutions with deep pocket accounts, and slick defense lawyers.

My brother Ernesto, who passed away on Nov. 2, 2007, after he spend 13 days in the intensive care unit, deserves to have his case studied, and filed in a court for what I think amounts to negligence, and incompetence from his medical team. They couldn’t figure out how to treat a patient with a special condition with which Ernesto lived.

The condition, called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, makes bones brittle, due to lack of calcium caused by a genetic mutation in the DNA. It’s a rare condition, and those who are born with it experience multiple fractures during their lives. When Ernesto suffered his car accident on Oct.16, 2007, he fractured his two legs. The fact that the driver of the Access Paratransit minivan did not install a chest belt on him made the injuries worse.

To appease his broken legs’ pain, Ernesto received several heavy doses of morphine, a drug that is known to cause lungs disease. Ernesto spent at least three days and three nights in the hospital before a specialist surgeon decided to approve his reconstructive legs surgery. During the preliminary studies, Ernesto was administered a test to measure his lungs’ breathing strength.

Unfortunately, Ernesto’s lungs were so weak, that he could not blow two out of three plastic balls out of the bottom of a small device that measures the strength, and ability of the lungs to breath and exhale. Morphine, and the stress caused by the injury, made one lung to collapse. Ernesto had an already reduced rib cage, and the drug worsened his ability to intake oxygen.

I believe the doctors misjudged Ernesto’s ability to overcome the surgery successfully, given the weakness of his lungs. During the surgery, the medical staff rushed to connect a mechanical breather, hoses attached to his nostrils, one running down his esophagus into one lung, the other to the stomach, to literally keep him alive.

After the surgery, my brother remained all the time hooked up to the artificial mechanical breather. At least two attempts to remove the devices out of his chest were made by various resident doctors and nurses, to no avail. They said Ernesto became agitated, and that it was impossible to do it. All the while he was administered intravenous liquids.

I called one law practice, the offices of Michels Watkins, who claim to have some of the best malpractice lawyers in town. Based in Beverly Hills, Michel Watkins seemed to ring a professional, serious possibility. But as soon as I explained the details, and the special condition of my brother, the paralegal who took my data told me she would call me back during the next day, or next week. It’s been several months already, and nobody has returned my request. Another slick law firm that claims to be of help, but does the opposite?

Hijos especiales: aprendiendo a volar con autismo

De Rodrigo Romero para su mamá Mónica Iris Romero

Hola, soy Rodrigo, el hijo de Mónica Iris, Se que muchos de ustedes solo miran las fotos de mamá, pero tambien se que muchos les preguntan por mi y mi patología: soy un niño con sindrome autista, soy más lento, "especial" dicen, todo me cuesta un poco más, pero si me hablas despacio y clarito entiendo todo.

Llegue a sus vidas con tan solo ...cinco meses. Yo necesitaba una familia, estaba solo en este mundo, y mis papis no dudaron un instante en hacerme suyo. Les decían que no escucharía y no podía hacer mucho en la vida, y mamá nunca se dio por vencida. Hoy tengo casi 18 años, puedo hablar muy bien, se leer, escribir, manejar la compu y el celu, voy al gym, y nado. Yo desde los tres años soy muy feliz, solo recibi amor. Eso me basto para luchar en la vida. Soy distinto... nada más.

No entiendo a veces como funciona el mundo de los "normales", entonces me "voy al mio". Se que ustedes no entienden esto, a mamá tambien le costó, pero ella si entiende ahora. Y me "desconecto" a veces, y siempre ella esta ahí para cuando yo decido "volver". Me espera con paciencia y todo vuelve a ser como antes otra vez... Muchas veces la oí llorar por las noches. Lloraba de dolor, de impotencia, por frustración, pues solo quiere lo mejor para mi. También la veo sonreir cuando alcanzo logros nuevos. Eso la hace feliz y a mi también.

Hoy tome la decisión de no vivir con ella. Se también que esto la hace llorar por las noches, me extraña...(yo tambien la extraño, pero no se lo digas, eh?)

Me pasan "cosas" que necesito resolver solo. Ella me preparo para esto, y algun día volvere a su lado, pero tengo que estar listo... no es mi tiempo aún. A veces me rio solo y hablo solo también. Mamá me quiere matar cuando lo hago, pero elige reir conmigo y abrazarme fuerte. Es lo que más necesito yo. Aprendi a leer y a usar la compu solito, pero no me se atar los cordones solito... ves? Mi cabeza y mi cuerpo crecen de modo desproporcionado, no soy "normal" dicen... pero quien puede juzgar eso?.. vos lo sos?

Tengo dos perros labradores entrenados y adiestrados para mi patología que acompañan mi crecimiento; MAMONA Y MAMON, asi los llamo yo. Son mis mejores amigos. Mamá dice que soy suyo porque me ama... que más?

Critican pobre infraestructura para discapacitados en escuelas argentinas.

Infancia Hoy.

En Argentina, cerca del 85 por ciento de los menores de edad con alguna discapacidad motriz que van al colegio abandonan los estudios por la falta de accesibilidad de los edificios. Se calcula que en la ciudad de Buenos Aires, sólo el cinco por ciento de las escuelas privadas están preparadas para recibir adecuadamente a estos niños y, en el caso de las estatales, la cifra asciende al 25 por ciento.

Estos datos se desprenden de un relevamiento hecho por el organismo no lucrativo Acceso YA en el 2006. Si bien no hay disponible una actualización de las cifras, la directora del ONG Evangelina Gálligo explico que la estadística no ha cambiado y que "son muy escasos los colegios que hicieron reformas".

"Desde principio de año reclamamos a través de un pedido de información pública saber cuáles fueron las obras realizadas entre 2005 y 2008 y el presupuesto que se les asignó pero no obtuvimos respuesta, así que la semana pasada presentamos un amparo", dijo Gálligo. "Los derechos de niños con discapacidad estan vulnerados".

Además, en 2007 la organización presentó otra acción reclamando que se cree un plan de accesibilidad. Se espera que en los próximos días se dicte la sentencia.

En el relevamiento realizado sobre cerca de 700 escuelas porteñas, se destaca que la mayoría de las que no cumplen con los requisitos mínimos, son religiosas. "Muchos de estos colegios pertenecen al Arzobispado de Buenos Aires y varios son subsidiados hasta en un 70 por ciento", reflexiono Gálligo.

Evangelina Gálligo cuenta que hacen reclamos en los colegios, pero los chicos no obtienen respuesta y a partir de allí surgen los casos de deserción escolar. Además -destaca- muchos suelen sentirse discriminados y terminan yendo a una escuela esencial, aunque su capacidad intelectual sea como la de cualquier persona sin problemas motrices.

Con respecto al actual gobierno porteño, a cargo de Mauricio Macri, Gálligo ironizo y resalto que los cambios fueron no positivos, al comparar ésta con otras gestiones.

"Entre los compañeros de colegio hay solidaridad, pero lo que falta es la voluntad política para resolver la situación. Hay que reivindicarlos como sujetos de derecho", sentencio.

Pero la construcción de rampas para ingresar no es lo único que se necesita para que los chicos con problemas motrices puedan ir a un colegio normal; debe haber un sistema de transporte equipado correctamente; dentro de las instituciones no deben haber desniveles (y, en tal caso, hay que colocar ascensores), las puertas deben ser lo suficientemente anchas como para permitir el paso de sillas de ruedas, y los baños también deben ser accesibles.

Discrimination at workplaces increases in 2009

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that 93,277 workplace discrimination charges were filed with the federal agency nationwide during fiscal year (FY) 2009, the second highest level ever.

Monetary relief obtained for the victims totaled more than $376 million.

“The latest data tell us that, as the first decade of the 21st century comes to a close, the Commission’s work is far from finished,” said EEOC chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. “Equal employment opportunity remains elusive for far too many workers and the commission will continue to fight for their rights. Employers must step up their efforts to foster discrimination-free and inclusive workplaces, or risk enforcement and litigation by the EEOC.”

The FY 2009 data show that private sector job bias charges (which include those filed against state and local governments) alleging discrimination based on disability, religion and/or national origin hit record highs.

The number of charges alleging age-based discrimination reached the second-highest level ever.

Continuing a decade-long trend, the most frequently filed charges with the EEOC in FY 2009 were charges alleging discrimination based on race (36%), retaliation (36%), and sex-based discrimination (30%). Multiple types of discrimination may be alleged in a single charge filing.

The near-historic level of total discrimination charge filings may be due to multiple factors, including greater accessibility of the EEOC to the public, economic conditions, increased diversity and demographic shifts in the labor force, employees’ greater awareness of their rights under the law, and changes to the agency’s intake practices that cut down on the steps needed for an individual to file a charge.

The FY 2009 data also show that the EEOC resolved 85,980 private sector charges. In FY 2009, the commission resolved more charges than ever alleging unlawful harassment, as well as allegations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

In FY 2009, the EEOC recovered a record high of $294 million through administrative enforcement and mediation. Further, the productivity of EEOC investigators increased in FY 2009. The EEOC resolved the second highest number of charges per available investigator in the past 20 years.

The EEOC also filed 281 new “merits” lawsuits and resolved 321 merits lawsuits in FY 2009. Merits suits include direct suits and interventions alleging violations of the substantive provisions of the statutes enforced by the commission and suits to enforce administrative settlements.

Through its combined enforcement, mediation and litigation programs, the EEOC obtained more than $376 million in monetary relief for thousands of discrimination victims, and earned significant remedial relief benefiting millions of workers across the country. Among the remedies were court decrees or settlements requiring employers to change discriminatory policies or practices.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

The agency’s website also contains information about the charges. The comprehensive enforcement and litigation statistics for FY 2009 ended Sept. 30, 2009.