Thursday, September 9, 2021

Man in hospital many months due to Covid served papers, hospital wants to appoint guardian

by Robyn Oguinye 

Mark Miranda has been at Christus Santa Rosa seven months due to Covid complications. He was served papers to appear in court to be appointed a guardian to make decisions on his behalf. (KABB/WOAI)
 
SAN ANTONIO (KABB/WOAI) - A Texas family looking at $4 million in hospital bills is now facing another challenge.

Mark Miranda has been in the hospital for seven months due to Covid complications.

The husband and father of two is still on a ventilator and making slow progress.

A visit from the Comal County Sheriff's Department last week is making their medical misfortune a nightmare.

Mark was served papers ordering him to appear in court.

A request from Christus Santa Rosa asks Mark be stripped of his rights to make decisions on behalf of his health and forfeit them to a group called Angel Guardians.

The family claims it's an effort to remove him from the hospital.

"I don’t think it’s fair and I can make my own decisions," says Mark.

According to personal injury attorneys we spoke with, that guardian would be allowed to make all of the medical decisions for Mark and even decide whether family members, like his spouse, would have access to him.

"If he’s able to demonstrate that he is of sound mind, capable of making decisions, has a sense of awareness, then it would be completely inappropriate for a guardianship to be appointed," says attorney Erica Maloney.

Maloney says guardianships are appointed when someone is incapacitated, that's how paperwork from the hospital refers to Mark.

But mark's wife Kim says he's far from incapacitated.

"Now he’s moving his arms, you can see that he’s moving his own arms, he’s moving his legs, he can do a lot of things if given the chance," says Kim. "To our knowledge he has not been evaluated."

We asked Maloney if there is an evaluation process when determining if someone will be appointed a guardian.

"There is, in the court there’s a process and there’s the ability for witnesses to testify, so they would have to have proof that he was actually incapacitated," says Maloney.

We asked Christus for more insight into the Miranda's situation, we received this statement:

Each of our patients capture our hearts in different ways, and although we cannot speak directly about specifics because of federal patient privacy laws, we can share that we strive to treat everyone we serve with compassion and dignity. We advocate for and honor them and their families.

Mark and Kim also say the hospital began physical therapy for Mark in May, but the therapy stopped just shy of August.

They say they feel that therapy is what he needs to continue to heal.

Mark is set to appear before a judge this Thursday, September 9.

Watch for updates here to see what is decided.


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2 comments:

Unknown said...

BS stick to you guns he does not need a Guardian just because he is sick. Quit taking advantage of sick people.... bunch of corrupt ass holes! Unbelievable, what these states are doing in the name of protecting a person.... ugh

Unknown said...

The hospital will see to it he becomes incapacitated