The Legal Coronavirus Catastrophe
One summer, my daughter, Tara, was invited to go with her friend to a cabin in the mountains near Payson, AZ. We were busy in Phoenix that weekend. Tara, a very creative child, showed her friend a magic trick on how to make a quarter disappear. She swallowed it and the quarter became lodged in her throat. Her friend’s family drove her 35 minutes to a small hospital in Payson. The doctor could not operate on her without our consent. They could not tell anyone other than the legal parents the diagnosis because by doing so they would violate the Federal HIPAA laws and be subject to criminal penalties and civil fines. They could not operate because no one with Tara had the legal authority to consent to medical care other than “first aid.” Also, no one was able to assure the hospital that the medical bills for Tara would be paid.
The hospital called me who, while Tara gurgled, choked, and cried, drove two hours to be present to take care of the situation because only her parents could receive the diagnosis and authorize the corrective surgery.
The Preventive Law Solution
We discovered that few parents give “Medical Authorization for Minor Children” (MAMC) or what we call “Baby Sitter Forms” when they (1) leave their child with someone else, or (2) when the child visits with someone else.
WORSE THAN THIS, WE FOUND NO BABY SITTER FORMS IN EXISTENCE TODAY THAT HAVE ALL THE PROTECTIVE PROVISIONS NECESSARY TO CARE FOR THE CHILD IN AN EMERGENCY AND AT THE SAME TIME PROTECT THE DOCTOR, HOSPITAL, AND THOSE WHO CARE FOR A CHILD IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.
Imagine a disease with no vaccine like our current Coronavirus. That is what we have had in the United States until now – a legal catastrophe to which all children are exposed and no preventive law document to protect our children.
We want every child in the United States to have a duly executed “Medical Authorization for Minor Children” (MAMC). All the children in your family must have a MAMC duly executed and ready to copy with the names of persons you trust as custodians to take care of all the emergencies that may happen when your children are not with you.
The form designed by attorney John F. Goodson, President and founder of the College of Preventive Law is one that will be immediately acted upon by the medical professionals without them worrying about their liability for lawsuits later, or about their violating HIPAA laws or not being paid for their services.
This legal document must be prepared in such a way that it will be acted upon without delays – where the hospital staff is not questioning the document and waiting until they talk to the hospital attorney. A delay in surgery with a broken bone situation may result in permanent impairment or slower recovery; a delay in treating a laceration or skin tear will result in scars that are difficult for a plastic surgeon to erase later.
The College of Preventive Law MAMC has all the protective information in it for each child:
Blood type
Allergy information
Family doctor
Family hospital
Other medical cautions
Medical insurance carrier and contact information
Right to add additional custodians on the form if your first named approved custodians are not available
The MAMC authorizes the named custodian to:
Take the child to a medical facility or a medical practitioner to care for it or operate if necessary
Incur medical bills for the child payable by the parents
Use first aid to care for the child
Discipline the child as reasonably necessary
The custodians named in the MAMC are protected from lawsuits as long as they exercise their “best efforts” and are not guilty of intentional wrongdoing or gross negligence. The parents will hold the custodian harmless and protect them from lawsuits, if any, arising out of the custodians actions in caring for the child.
To further authenticate the MAMC and prevent delays in its implementation, we have it notarized and a signed lawyers certificate of its legality.
We urge you to notify your family and friends to seek this protection. Be sure you do this before you assume responsibility for someone else’s children.
Every sports coach, scout master, school group must insist that the parents of their students do this before they accompany children on trips.
EVERY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL SHOULD HAVE A MAMC FOR EVERY CHILD IN THEIR SCHOOL.
Do not allow kids to stay overnight at your house without insisting that their parents bring a MAMC for each child that you are responsible for.