Schiavo background story (re-written) Excellewnt resource if you are

[caligirl]

short on facts and long on opinion.


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/3/22/194615/400

GAL report
http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/WolfsonReport.pdf

Log of events compiled by an impartial lawyer.

http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/infopage.html

[Benbow]

1. What about the $6,000,000 damages settlement?

I skimmed two of those (the first and the last) without finding mention of the damages settlement by which

* if Terri lives, her family gets an equal share of the $6 million;
* if Terri dies, it all goes to her husband.

I have seen this mentioned on another forum, by an American: viz, that we never heard anything about Terri until the damages settlement was announced.

[caligirl]

3. I have never come across that figure. This is the settlement which

was $750,000 to Terri and 300,000 to Michael. All went to a trust account managed by a bank in trust , never managed by Michael. it is written about at the links i posted. I thought the money had been exhausted by medical costs. Michael

January 1993… Michael recovers $1 million settlement for medical malpractice claim involving Terri's care; jury had ruled in Michael's favor on allegations Terri's doctors failed to diagnose her bulimia, which led to her heart failure; case settled while on appeal

[LiberalFighter]

4. Just an atttempt by Schindler supporters to put a bad light on Michael

[Lindacooks]

6. No.

Saw his lawyer say so on Larry King - Michael gets nothing when she dies.

[MissMarple]

2. The malpractice award coincides with the turn against the husband.

This is quite interesting. It was briefly mentioned in the Denver Post the other day. What part the money plays, if any, I don't know, but the family is determined to keep her "alive" even if they have to amputate limbs and do open heart surgury. This is just sick. It's all about them.

"Michael Schiavo, on Theresa’s and his own behalf, initiated a medical malpractice lawsuit against the obstetrician who had been overseeing Theresa’s fertility therapy. In 1993, the malpractice action concluded in Theresa and Michael’s favor, resulting in a two element award: More than $750,000 in economic damages for Theresa, and a loss of consortium award (non economic damages) of $300,000 to Michael. The court established a trust fund for Theresa’s financial award, with SouthTrust Bank as the Guardian and an independent trustee. This fund was meticulously managed and accounted for and Michael Schiavo had no control over its use. There is no evidence in the record of the trust administration documents of any mismanagement of Theresa’s estate, and the records on this matter are excellently maintained.

…


Michael Schiavo had earlier, formally offered to divest himself entirely of his financial interest in the guardianship estate ."

[illflem]

5. Thanks caligirl

One thing I learned from one of your links that I never knew was that Terri's fate is out of Michael's hands and rests with the court. Even if he had taken the $1M to let her live or had changed his wishes it would make no difference.
H can no longer be held responsible as many claim.

[Benbow]

7. More background, Sidney Blumenthal in Guardian 24 March 2005

The Schiavo case is unique among all medical cases, including 35,000 other people in persistent vegetative states. It is the only one in which the parents, who are not legal custodians, have been granted by an act of Congress and the president a federal court review of state court rulings. Wresting jurisdiction from the state judiciary is an unprecedented usurpation, a travesty of the federal system, displacing the constitution with an ill-defined faith-based "culture of life", enthroning by edict theology above the law. ...

The Senate majority leader, Bill Frist of Tennessee, is a leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. For him, the Schiavo case is the beginning of the struggle for Bush's succession. A heart surgeon before his entry into politics, the nameplate on the front door to his Capitol Hill office reads "William H Frist, MD", and he signs correspondence "Bill Frist, MD".

Amid the debate, after watching snatches of video tape of Schiavo, he proclaimed a diagnosis that she was not vegetative, contrary to the neurologists who have personally examined her. Several months ago, in a national TV interview on ABC, Frist refused to acknowledge that saliva and tears cannot transmit Aids-HIV, one of the shibboleths of the religious right. ...

"Come down, President Bush," said the anguished husband, Michael Schiavo. "Come talk to me. Meet my wife. Talk to my wife and see if you get an answer. Ask her to lift her arm to shake your hand. She won't do it."

<"http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1444587,00.html">A confederacy of shamans

[auburngrad82]

8. If I'm ever seriously injured I want to be examined via video

Amid the debate, after watching snatches of video tape of Schiavo, he proclaimed a diagnosis that she was not vegetative, contrary to the neurologists who have personally examined her.

My feeling is that it's always best for a doctor to prescribe treatment without actually examining the patient. That keeps Frist from actually having to get up off his rich ass to go down there and do a real examination.