Children's Health Defense
A Wisconsin judge partially lifted a gag order in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Scott Schara, father of Grace Naomi (Emily) Schara, who died Oct. 13, 2021, at age 19 days after she was admitted to the hospital with a COVID-19 diagnosis.
At two recent hearings — on July 22 and July 29 — Judge Mark J. McGinnis of the Circuit Court of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, partially overturned the May 21 gag order imposed against Schara, allowing him and his legal team to disclose audio recordings and written transcripts — but not videos — of depositions in the case.
McGinnis also allowed the plaintiffs to move forward with deposing an additional doctor, added to their lawsuit in June. As a result, the trial date, originally scheduled for Nov. 4, 2024, will be rescheduled to June 2, 2025, with the new date set to be formalized in the coming weeks.
In April 2023, Grace’s family sued Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, Wisconsin, and several doctors and nurses, alleging the hospital’s protocols — including the administration of Precedex, lorazepam and morphine, and the implementation of a do not resuscitate (DNR) order against the family’s wishes — directly resulted in Grace’s death.
Schara told The Defender that the partial lifting of the gag order is “an example of the judge taking the middle of the road,” and was “a disappointment, but not a surprise.”
Responding to arguments from the defendants that the release of the transcripts of their depositions puts them at risk, Schara said, “I don’t understand how me sharing their video testimony puts them at risk.”
Schara said the continued prohibition on releasing these videos violates his First Amendment rights, but appealing this prohibition would further delay the lawsuit.
“We needed to get those depositions done. We were at a stalemate,” Schara said.
Schara said the case remains in the discovery phase, and attorneys for the newly added defendant have 45 days to respond, after which the scheduling order for the case will be formally adjusted to reflect the new trial date…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (childrenshealthdefense.org)
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