“I need help,” said Andrea Morris, who was in the bedroom where she spent her childhood.
Her speech regressed for several years following her brain injury, but these three words speak volumes.
Morris has needed help since suddenly after a cardiac arrest at the hopeful cancer injection centre in Upland, where she worked as a nurse.
Her medical emergency in May 2020 was recorded on her mobile phone by the nurse’s boss.
Morris needed help at the time, but with the doctors and nurses on standby, it took me over 7 minutes for fellow nurses and friends to start CPR after seeing what was going on. . By then, she had suffered severe brain damage from lack of oxygen. She survived, but is quadriplegic.
Morris cannot feed himself and needs to be around the clock. And while she and her family are relieved by recent legal victory, they come at a time of great personal loss.
“It was an incredibly tragic time for us, especially Andrea,” said Morris’s sister, Pam Batino. “Both my parents got sick on vacation, and sadly my mother passed away unexpectedly on the Great Year day, and 19 days later my father passed away,” said Morris’ sister Pam Batino. .
May 14th records five years since Morris’ sudden cardiac arrest.
“It’s just heartbreaking. And now we’re planning a parent’s funeral and a celebration of life. And yet, we have this big question mark in our heads, how do we go about Andrea’s Are you going to take care of me?” Batino said.
The City of Hope claims that her sudden cardiac arrest is not work-related, work stress and that working during Covid is not a factor.
Without worker compensation benefits, her family said Morris had to sell her home, settle her 401K and move in with her parents. Caregiver costs alone are well over $200,000 a year. Her kids stepped up as much as they could. Her son Donnavan was when his mother’s life changed forever, and he was also graduating from high school.
“My mother needs 24 hours a day care. Does a 23-year-old know how to change her diaper? I know how to take care of everything,” Donavan Garcia said. “I shouldn’t have to do that, but it’s my mother and I’ll do anything for her.”
However, he cannot do it alone, and he says she cannot understand why the hospital where she cared for the patient doesn’t take care of her.
In a statement, City of Hope said: Morris is a precious colleague and a friend of the city of hope. We have been actively working to resolve this issue fairly. That way she and her family can move forward. ”
Morris’ lawyer Keith replied more: “If you believe that the City of Hope handled Andrea’s case fairly, you can’t imagine what unfair treatment would look like. Two independent doctors, a workers’ compensation judge, and now the Appeals Board have all found them responsible. When will they take accountability and provide the most basic care for a woman who has now lost everything! How much more is a dedicated former employee will endure Are you doing it?”
Legal analyst Royal Oaks says City of Hope should measure its options carefully.
“Her story couldn’t be sad in terms of what happened physically about her, her finances and what happened to her family. So the parties will come together and solve this. There are all kinds of incentives to do so,” Oaks said.
He added that the city of hope can sue again, but he believes it will be difficult for hospitals to overcome previous rulings.
“The bottom line is that this seems terrible for the city of hope. Even if they are confident in their argument, this is a very bad PR situation for them.”
As the family prepares to celebrate their parents’ lives, they also focus on Andrea’s future and the help they need from the city of hope.
“Do the right thing and solve this for Andrea,” Batino said. “It’s been going on for too long. She really needs your help. This happens with your watch and just does the right thing.”
The city of hope will have to decide whether to appeal until mid-April. Meanwhile, the Workers’ Compensation Trial Judge set up a status meeting on March 13th to hear from both sides.
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