My brothers stepmom somehow had her made over my brothers medical care instead of his biological mother how is this?

[Paulasouto]

My brother was recently in a bad car wreck and has brain damage. My mother has been over all of his medical care until today when a social worker came in and said it had been transferred to his step mother's care bc he was living with her at the time. Her husband which isn't even his biological father is deceased now, but therefore she is no relation at all. My brother isn't able to make decisions because he can't speak or move and just stares into space for now...She doesn't care about his best interest she just sees him as a check coming. I'm really worried and my mom is devestated how can this happen and how can my mother fix it? Thank you

 

[adjusterjack]

how can my mother fix it?

By determining just who that social worker was and under what authority was the care transferred to the stepmother.

Start with local court records to see if there was a court case under your brother's name or his stepmother's name. If there was a court case, go to the court house and buy a complete copy of the case file and bring it home with you so you can answer questions about it when next you visit this thread.

If there was no case file, or if the court ordered the change, your mother is likely to need an attorney to file for conservatorship and reverse the court's decision.

 

[Paulasouto]

By determining just who that social worker was and under what authority was the care transferred to the stepmother.

Start with local court records to see if there was a court case under your brother's name or his stepmother's name. If there was a court case, go to the court house and buy a complete copy of the case file and bring it home with you so you can answer questions about it when next you visit this thread.

If there was no case file, or if the court ordered the change, your mother is likely to need an attorney to file for conservatorship and reverse the court's decision.

There was no court order the hospital case worker decided it. He is 19 years old so he isn't a child but isn't able to make any decisions. Can a hospital legally do this? I thought it was next of kin?

 

[adjusterjack]

The hospital can do whatever somebody at the hospital wants to do until somebody objects to it and takes appropriate action.

If your mother can't get any satisfaction from people who run the hospital, she will have to get a court order appointing her as conservator.

I suggest that she consult an attorney who specializes in conservatorship.

 

[stealth2]

What state?

 

[cbg]

I can't help wondering, since the OP says he was living with the step-mother, if he had signed a medical proxy prior to the accident.

 

[LdiJ]

I can't help wondering, since the OP says he was living with the step-mother, if he had signed a medical proxy prior to the accident.

What are the odds that a 19 year old would have done that? Its certainly possible but its not very likely. If so, the social worker should have said so, and probably should have even shown it to mom.

 

[stealth2]

I'm wondering how/why he was still living with stepmom. And how long ago Dad passed/had custody.

 

[cbg]

What are the odds that a 19 year old would have done that? Its certainly possible but its not very likely. If so, the social worker should have said so, and probably should have even shown it to mom.

I think it's very unlikely that he would have initiated such an action. But I can't rule out the possibility that the stepmother might have done so. As for showing it to Mom, have you ever heard of HIPAA?

 

[LdiJ]

I think it's very unlikely that he would have initiated such an action. But I can't rule out the possibility that the stepmother might have done so. As for showing it to Mom, have you ever heard of HIPAA?

Mom is next of kin. Should a POA (which is not part of someone's medical records) be shown to the next of kin to prove that someone else has the POA? I don't see how HIPAA applies to a POA.

 

[cbg]

Where HIPAA is concerned, it's better to err on the side of caution. And I didn't say a POA - I said a medical proxy.