NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After a traumatic brain injury, one family's year-long struggle to make medical decisions for their son highlights the importance of having legal documents in place before tragedy strikes.
Dean and Kim Eidel felt powerless after their son's accident in Nashville. At 47, Bryan suffered a traumatic brain injury while riding a motorized scooter. Because his parents were no longer his legal guardians, they had little say in his medical care.
"You basically did what you wanted with him for 14 months," Dean Eidel said about the medical facilities that treated his son.
The Eidels gained conservatorship a year into his treatment, but believe their son experienced setbacks because they couldn't intervene sooner.
"They put him on 4 different seizure medicines. One seizure medicine would knock you and me out. They put him on four, so for seven weeks he basically slept," Eidel said.
Jordan Stringer with Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and The Cumberlands recommends taking action before an emergency occurs.
"The good news is there are things we can start doing today to prepare for those unforeseen events," Stringer said.
An advance directive for health care — a legal document that outlines your treatment wishes — protects you if you can't speak for yourself. Transferring decision-making power to a conservator is a serious step and should be a last resort.
"No one wants to think that a loved one is going to find themselves in that position, right? So people don't do ahead of time what they could do to get documents in order," Stringer said.
Another important tool is a HIPAA authorization form.
"You can sign an authorization that tells your healthcare provider you're comfortable with them releasing health information to a third party, and you can designate who that is," Stringer said.
However, Stringer cautions, "The disclosures have to be fairly limited and only apply to that specific medical situation. So it’s not an ongoing carte blanche. You don’t give permission forevermore."
When asked who might need a conservatorship, Stringer explained that once someone is incapacitated, other options become limited.
"Powers of attorney and living wills are only available to people who are competent to enter into that document. Once a person is not competent, a conservatorship is the only option," he said.
In many cases, doctors do seek input from spouses or parents after a serious accident. But when no advance directives exist, state law allows providers to turn to family members. However, providers have some discretion in how they handle these situations, which is another reason it’s critical to have your wishes in place ahead of time.
Regarding insurance coverage and medical decision-making authority, it’s important to understand the difference.
For example, if your adult child is on your health care policy — common for dependents under 26 — the insurance company may pay their medical bills, but as the policyholder, you do not gain authority over their medical decisions.
"You might be responsible for paying the bill, but that doesn't mean you get to dictate to the doctor what kind of care that person is going to receive," Stringer said.
Having these forms in place now could make a world of difference later.
"It is also something that should be made available and made known more readily to people," Stringer said.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at hannah.mcdonald@newschannel5.com.
Music City is built on the talents of songwriters - and I can guarantee you've never seen a better collaboration than this! You'll be cheering and crying... and glad you took time to watch this story. Enjoy!
- Carrie Sharp
