Live Action By Cassy Fiano-Chesser November 12, 2023
A hospital accused of intentionally killing a teenage girl with Down syndrome has lost its last chance to dismiss, and the case will now move forward, in what her family says is a “first-of-its-kind” jury trial.
Earlier this year, the tragic death of Grace Schara came to light. In 2021, Grace died at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital; she had been given a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order without her or her family’s knowledge or consent; additionally, she was administered a cocktail of drugs — Precedex, Lorazepam, and Morphine — which are known to cause hypoxia, or low levels of oxygen in body tissues.
Grace had been diagnosed with COVID-19, but her family said she had been doing relatively well, despite being in the hospital. Yet they said hospital staff repeatedly tried to force ventilation on Grace without their consent, even as tests came back normal, indicating she didn’t need to be ventilated. Eventually, her parents were banned from being in her room at all. Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requiring the right to an advocate, and though her sister was on-site to serve as that advocate, Grace’s family said the staff made decisions for her supposed treatment without consulting them.
More:
https://www.liveaction.org/news/jury-trial-hospital-killing-teen-down-syndrome/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZByyUVdIVA8
