The Tragedy: The Love of Money


DOJ Civil Rights Complaint – "We’re too busy" (the cover 5)

Complaint filed December 8, 2021; response January 13, 2022

"Dear Scott Schara,

You contacted the Department of Justice on December 8, 2021. After careful review of what you submitted, we have decided not to take any further action on your complaint. What we did:

Team members from the Civil Rights Division reviewed the information you submitted. Based on our review, we have decided not to take any further action on your complaint. We receive several thousand reports of civil rights violations each year. We unfortunately do not have the resources to take direct action for every report."

ADA Complaint Description:

Our daughter Grace had Down Syndrome. She died on 10/13/21 after a doctor unilaterally labeled her DNR and then administered a lethal dose of morphine. How could Grace be coded DNR, without our consent? The morphine, combined with other drugs, Precedex and Lorazepam, made the combination lethal - this combination was given to Grace in a 30-minute window! Package Inserts for these medications create a picture of gross negligence. As Medical POA, we were denied the advocacy for our daughter to make and challenge these decisions. The doctor portrayed everything was fine; he never voiced any concerns – a half hour after the last call from the doctor Grace died.

Grace was also denied advocacy for about 48 hours after I was escorted out of the building by an armed security guard. I had been in Grace’s room for four days. Our daughter Jessica became replacement advocate after our special needs attorney vigorously challenged the hospital attorney’s position that policy overrode the law. Grace’s mom, Cindy, could not be an advocate because she had COVID at the time. Without an advocate, Grace was helpless. Even with an advocate, the hospital drugged her up and had her on a BiPAP mask so she couldn’t communicate. They also thought she was stupid, because of having Down Syndrome, so never asked her questions.

Specifics related to our complaint:

  1. The hospital staff put Grace in restraints, without permission and without attempting alternatives, when she wanted to get out of bed to use the bathroom her last morning. Jessica overheard them say, "the family isn’t going to like this."
  2. The doctor kept Grace on Precedex, for a week, when the package insert says the maximum use should be 24 hours. We were told she was on the minimum dosage to allow her to sleep. Even more troubling is he increased this dosage by 7X the day she died – following a back-to-back (within three minutes) dosage of Lorazepam!
  3. The nurses would not prone Grace. This position is a known benefit for patients with COVID Pneumonia; the doctors’ notes suggested proning multiple times.
  4. The doctor did not place nutrition as a high priority until Grace’s last day. Grace ate off the menu the first and second day and I spoon fed her under the Bipap mask the third day. After I was escorted out, nutrition was on the back burner.
  5. The doctor’s reports referenced Grace having Down Syndrome, every day, although not relevant to the care she should have received.
  6. We were pushed 5X to put Grace on a ventilator, even though she was improving. Her oxygen saturation was holding, and she was in good spirits. Was the goal to work through a COVID protocol vs. care for her?
  7. Improper communications with Grace present: a) the first ventilator conversation was with a doctor and nurse, in Grace’s room, stating she will most likely die if put on a ventilator; b) the head nurse, who insisted I be escorted out, verbally bashed me in front of Grace. Grace’s heart was broken – she was sad when I gave her a hug before leaving with the guard.
  8. The doctor’s reports questioned our family’s character for: a) not being vaccinated ("I think the patient would not be here if she had been fully vaccinated"); b) being Christian (negative reference to a Christian concert we attended); and c) not subscribing to their hospital protocols ("they followed the Front-Line Doctors misinformation campaign and placed her on ivermectin and multiple other vitamins").
  9. There was no resuscitation attempt after administering 2 mg morphine, after Grace’s stats started dropping. Right before the stats started dropping, Jessica noticed Grace was getting cold and asked for help. No one would help and instead said, "there’s nothing more we can do for your sister." We believe the medication timeline shows the hospital set this situation up so Grace had no chance to recover. The package insert requires a nurse be present, with a reversal drug, when any morphine is used. That was not done, and the morphine was improperly administered with an IV push vs. drip. When I, Jessica, and Cindy cried out for the nurses to use reversal drugs, they just stood at the nurses’ station and in the hallway, outside Grace’s door, watching – a few stating, "She’s DNR." Strangely, an armed guard was also outside the room during this ordeal.

We have consulted medical professionals, combed through Grace’s hospital records, and researched medical websites, to arrive at our conclusions, which include those listed in this complaint. These records, along a detailed summary of all of our findings, are available upon request.