What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Wisconsin
My ex ("Ann") has some third party visitation time with my children. (We live in Minnesota but this occurred in Wisconsin.) NO other legal or parental rights. Yesterday, she took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 1 inch cut on his cheek that she decided needed attention. She attempted to call me on my personal cell, which was off. She made no attempts to call my work number (where I was available) or to use any other method to reach me. She left another message 25 minutes later giving me a number I could call to give verbal consent. When I called her back later that evening, I found out that the hospital put stitches in his face.
Had I known about this, I would have
1. Taken him to his clinic. I trust the docs there. (I do not trust the docs in this little rural ER.) There are usually a few options for a cut like this, each with pros and cons.
2. Made a decision based on the information. You know, informed consent
This is where it gets confusing. I was livid that the hospital did anything like this without my consent. (Background - I am a nurse and worked in an ER in the past. A simple cut like that can be stitched/glued/whatever for a good 12 hours. It is urgent, but not emergent. Certainly not threatening to life or limb - which is the requirement to treat a minor without consent.) The hospital clerk told me that Ann signed the HIPPA form as "mother". He told me they always obtain consent and he wasn't there at the time, but could only assume that she told them she was my son's mother. He also told me that Ann had listed her address as my son's address.
So I went out to the hospital today to get more information. The registration clerk was the same one who registered them yesterday. She told me that Ann had "made it clear that you were his mother" and had said over and over that she couldn't consent. She told me that she only had Ann sign one form, which was for billing. This was actually the HIPPA form that, besides billing, authorized the release of my son's records. I'm pretty sure that's not ok and I told her that. I asked why no one called me. The registrar said that she saw Ann try to call me and I wasn't answering. And that's it. I asked who signed for consent and she said that she only had Ann sign that HIPPA form, nothing else. So I guess no consent?
I made a police report yesterday because it looked initially like Ann had committed forgery by pretending to be Mom. But now it looks like the hospital is involved, too. (More background - Ann is a paramedic in the same small town and works with this ER all the time. I am quite sure that they all know her. Based on one comment from the officer I spoke with, I'm sure he knows her, too.)
So...what can I do? The officer said that I should report the HIPPA stuff to the feds and that the failure to obtain consent is probably a civil matter. He agreed that this is messed up. Someone can perform minor surgery on my child without my permission and it's civil???? So what do I do? There is no injury per se, because the cut had already happened I don't know that I would have done anything differently regarding the stitches. Again, I don't know because I wasn't given the chance. I'm sure that the doc did just fine in placing them. I suppose that he will have scarring from the sutures - but again, I may have made the same decision. I don't know. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
My ex ("Ann") has some third party visitation time with my children. (We live in Minnesota but this occurred in Wisconsin.) NO other legal or parental rights. Yesterday, she took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 1 inch cut on his cheek that she decided needed attention. She attempted to call me on my personal cell, which was off. She made no attempts to call my work number (where I was available) or to use any other method to reach me. She left another message 25 minutes later giving me a number I could call to give verbal consent. When I called her back later that evening, I found out that the hospital put stitches in his face.
Had I known about this, I would have
1. Taken him to his clinic. I trust the docs there. (I do not trust the docs in this little rural ER.) There are usually a few options for a cut like this, each with pros and cons.
2. Made a decision based on the information. You know, informed consent
This is where it gets confusing. I was livid that the hospital did anything like this without my consent. (Background - I am a nurse and worked in an ER in the past. A simple cut like that can be stitched/glued/whatever for a good 12 hours. It is urgent, but not emergent. Certainly not threatening to life or limb - which is the requirement to treat a minor without consent.) The hospital clerk told me that Ann signed the HIPPA form as "mother". He told me they always obtain consent and he wasn't there at the time, but could only assume that she told them she was my son's mother. He also told me that Ann had listed her address as my son's address.
So I went out to the hospital today to get more information. The registration clerk was the same one who registered them yesterday. She told me that Ann had "made it clear that you were his mother" and had said over and over that she couldn't consent. She told me that she only had Ann sign one form, which was for billing. This was actually the HIPPA form that, besides billing, authorized the release of my son's records. I'm pretty sure that's not ok and I told her that. I asked why no one called me. The registrar said that she saw Ann try to call me and I wasn't answering. And that's it. I asked who signed for consent and she said that she only had Ann sign that HIPPA form, nothing else. So I guess no consent?
I made a police report yesterday because it looked initially like Ann had committed forgery by pretending to be Mom. But now it looks like the hospital is involved, too. (More background - Ann is a paramedic in the same small town and works with this ER all the time. I am quite sure that they all know her. Based on one comment from the officer I spoke with, I'm sure he knows her, too.)
So...what can I do? The officer said that I should report the HIPPA stuff to the feds and that the failure to obtain consent is probably a civil matter. He agreed that this is messed up. Someone can perform minor surgery on my child without my permission and it's civil???? So what do I do? There is no injury per se, because the cut had already happened I don't know that I would have done anything differently regarding the stitches. Again, I don't know because I wasn't given the chance. I'm sure that the doc did just fine in placing them. I suppose that he will have scarring from the sutures - but again, I may have made the same decision. I don't know. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.