Q: Can I represent myself in a Civil case for emotional distress? No luck with any lawyers.
Hello,
On May 2019 I became my father's Medical Power of Attorney. I provided a copy to the hospital were he was in. On June 8, 2019 my father was transferred to Intensive care unit. My father had decided to be a full code because he has other children that live 3-5 hours away and he wanted to give them a chance to say their goodbyes. My position as my father's MPOA was not respected because I was never notified that my father was in the ICU, because of this the doctor in charge decided to call another daughter and took the order by phone to do not resuscitate and comfort care only. My father passed away on June 9, 2019. This has brought a lot of emotional distress, I have been on medication for depression and anxiety. I am looking to start a lawsuit against my half sister that gave the order to DNR and the doctor. This took place in Arizona. I have searched for an attorney to represent me but I have not had any luck. Thank you for your time.
A:
I'm very sorry for your loss. A person could generally represent themselves in any given tort matter. Whether such a case would be viable could be another matter. I'm sorry for the anxiety that this matter has caused you, but these situations with DNRs and other directives do arise in health care facilities, and facilities are sometimes caught in a difficult crossfire of conflicting wishes expressed by different family members. You could continue to check with other attorneys, but you could also weigh the reluctance of firms to take the matter for its significance. Maybe if you asked one of the firms expressing reluctance for their reasons in not wanting to handle such a matter, that could be something for you to consider. Good luck
Tim Akpinar
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