The Suit Begins
After 18 months of preparation, the justice phase is now in motion
While March featured several new, important guests on “Deprogramming with Grace’s Dad,” including Robert Scott Bell, Ron Panzer, Sean Stone, Lesley Manookian, and Nurse Erin, the capstone for the month was the official beginning of the justice phase for Grace’s death. The Scharas took the necessary action to proceed with their upcoming lawsuit, which was a monumental occasion marked by a press conference and an optimistic gathering for those who support them.
The Schara family is filing a first of its kind lawsuit against St. Elizabeth’s Hospital (Ascension), the Wisconsin Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund, and multiple doctors and nurses related to the wrongful death of Grace Schara. Grace’s legal case will lay the groundwork for other hospital victims where their right to informed consent was denied and the patient suffered injury and death. The first step in the process is a request for mediation with the Director of State Courts, which was filed on March 30. That same day the family hosted a press conference across the street from St. Elizabeth’s to discuss the process and the case.
“St. Elizabeth’s not only breached the Standard of Care, but their unethical behavior led directly to Grace’s death,” stated Scott in the media advisory sent to media around the country. “It’s clear to me that this hospital was a dangerous place for Down Syndrome patients like my daughter. My Grace was discriminated against due to her disability and she received grossly subpar healthcare, in clear violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
The press conference was attended by over 100 supporters and local media. Attendees heard the story of what happened to Grace as well as how the lawsuit process will move forward. One of the attorneys on the legal team, Attorney Joe Voiland said, “The Schara family are true fighters for patient rights and informed consent. ‘Informed consent’ is two words – it’s not just one where you inform, it’s informed consent and what happened here, was neither. I suspect if more doctors upheld their duty to informed consent from their patients, more people would make it home alive.
“The American Medical Association (AMA) rules provide that a physician is required to not only inform the patient, but to involve the patient in his or her own care, planning and treatment, and to respect the patient’s desires to either accept treatment or to refuse treatment. And in Grace’s case, the doctor treating Grace here at St. Elizabeth’s, did not receive consent from the family to do what they did. There was a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ order placed on Grace without her family’s consent and that’s why she is no longer here with us and that’s why we are going to be pursuing legal actions starting today,” Voiland said.
Kelly Moore, who lost her husband Douglas in a hospital after he was denied his patient right to informed consent, spoke on behalf of the thousands of victims who died of similar circumstances.
Jessica’s tearful speech made several people in the crowd choke up.
“Grace was given a drug combination that none of us would have survived. Even though I was right there, I was unaware of these things and I would have never thought they were there to kill her. I was there when we screamed to have the doctors and nurses to save her. I was there when her soul left her body and she was ushered into Heaven on Oct. 13, 2021,” she said. “Today marks an important chapter in our lives. This chapter, to me, is the fight for justice. We not only hope and pray that justice will come for Grace, but also for the hundreds of thousands of lives stolen by this medical tyranny. These crimes against humanity must stop! They [medical personnel] need to be held accountable for their actions.”
Cindy described who Grace was in a way no one else could. “She was such a ray of sunshine and a joy to have in our lives. Those of you who knew her, know what I am talking about. She had a way to light up a room and bring a spark to your day! Maybe it was her beautiful smile, a kind word of encouragement, an underarm tickle, a hug, a joke, a scare, or noogie, but whatever it was, it was REAL coming from Grace. She just had that way about her.”
Scott walked everyone through what happened to Grace, closing with, “Grace loved life. She would be honored to know that shining a light on what happened to her could help others live. Shouldn’t everyone be in the business of preserving life, especially doctors and nurses?”
After presentations were completed, attendees were given the opportunity to ask questions. One reporter asked what their goals are with this case.
“We want to stop the behavior,” Scott said. “This is literally still happening. The policies and the laws are already in place so there’s nothing to change there. They are operating outside of the law. Ultimately, what we are hoping for more than anything else is repentance because that’s a change of heart. The change of heart is what’s required in order to follow the law – they’ve already shown they don’t want to follow the law. This lawsuit is not about money. If money comes of this lawsuit, it’s all going to be given to other families who need to file suit. We’re not going to take a penny out of this lawsuit.”
Prior to the end of the press conference, Cindy reemphasized how touched the Schara family is by the support they receive through messages of encouragement, but warned that some people still need to have their hearts and minds opened to truth.
“Thank you all for being here, supporting us and believing us because you really get to see who your friends are through something like this – it’s unbelievable. It was unbelievable for us and it’s still surreal to think that people could choose to take someone’s life so horrifically and for us to walk this walk by ourselves would just not be possible.
“Grace is one of many with Down Syndrome/special needs that were taken out. There is an agenda and it parallels the Holocaust. I know that seems so very strange, but it does. Covid and the Holocaust…it’s actually so very sad and so very sick how things match up… There are so many people that need to have their eyes and hearts opened to the truth, so we can – as Grace would say – blow this out of the water. She would want us to expose this.”
Appropriately, the event ended with the crowd singing “Amazing Grace.”
In the days to come, the lawsuit will be filed and the defendants will have months to respond. This case will not proceed rapidly or without anguish for the Schara family. But daily anguish and torment is something they’ve sadly had to cope with for a year and a half since Grace’s murder. Please remember to keep them in your prayers as they become the cornerstone for so many other families that no longer have a father, or brother, or sister or mother because of the actions of medical personnel who were “just trying to keep their jobs”, instead of following the oath they took to do no harm.
There isn’t anything anyone can do to bring Grace back. However, remembering her through this legal process is something that keeps her amongst all of us – even those of us who didn’t know her personally. Remember that this lawsuit is about a real person who was adored and loved and who didn’t deserve what happened to her. Please support the Schara family through uplifting messages, calls, or even donations at GraceSchara.com, the new website established to keep those who want to follow Grace’s case up to date.
In 1 Samuel chapter 17 we are told of the David vs Goliath battle. God chose someone who loved Him and wasn’t afraid of going to battle against someone bigger than he.
And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.”
The Schara family is going up against an enormous foe. Loving the Lord and being fearless will deliver victory to them. They took one of His. Grace loved the Lord with all her heart. This fight is for her and all the other victims of medical tyranny.