I’m Tony Baratta. Today, I’m going to talk to you about an important document that all of us should have. When a TBI survivor is dealing with the issues surrounding their care and the need to pay for it and recover, this person is often not able to make good judgments. So I’m going to tell you a story of a woman who was hit by a bus.
A client story
She was walking in the street, and she was hit by a bus. She suffered a severe head injury. Her brain was swelling inside her skull. She had to have a portion of her skull removed to allow that brain to swell without being impeded by the hard, bony skull, and so that she could survive.
Meanwhile, while she was in a medically induced coma, her family was forced to try to figure out how they were going to pay for medical care, how they were going to pay her bills, and how they were going to deal with things medically and legally.
A medical power of attorney
When they came to me, the first question I asked was, “Did she have a medical power of attorney that chose the person who was going to be able to make decisions for her if she was not able to do so?” They did not, unfortunately.
And we had to engage in a several months long process to obtain what is known as a guardianship. We were successful in doing that. But in the meantime, many months went by when critical decisions needed to be made on her behalf. And they couldn’t be made as effectively and efficiently as if she had had a medical power of attorney.
How to create your medical power of attorney
A medical power of attorney is an incredibly easy document to create. It can be created in a day. All it takes is a phone call to any lawyer who handles trusts in the States. This document allows a person to identify the person they want to make medical and legal decisions for them should they not be able to do so. My name is Tony Baratta, and I hope this video was helpful to you.
