Financial Consent Form: Fill & Download for Free

The only way a therapist could even conceive of going to a client’s spouse about an unpaid bill is if the client had signed a consent form with the spouse and, in the consent form had specified that financial matters had been chosen as an area open to discussion. Otherwise confidentiality would be broken and the therapist could lose his license and/or risk a law suit.

can their family sueYes, of course.The better question is: can you win?The question is, why did the person die? If the medical team caused the death by committing some medical malpractice, then there a possibility of success.Consent forms typically cannot take away the right to sue for serious wrongdoing.even though they were not the victim?It depends who “the family” refers to.There are two main kinds of civil claims when a person dies:A survival claimA wrongful death claimA survival claim is brought on behalf of the dead person, by the person’s estate, as if the person were still alive. Any recovery in court goes into the person’s estate. No other person is a “victim” of the survival claim.On the other hand, a wrongful death statute allow some family members (but not others) to file and maintain a lawsuit for the person’s wrongful death. These family members are the victim of having their family member killed: this is especially so with spouses and children, who would have relied on their family member’s financial support.These claims vary considerably from place to place. The only way to know whether a claim is valid is to consult with a qualified lawyer in the jurisdiction who handles claims involving medical malpractice and wrongful death.

Parenting my father...Before I tell my beautiful story, here is a short background. Not so long ago, I was one of those kids who wished he had a better relationship with his father. Although I really cannot complain about anything in life, being a son of a teetotaler father in an affluent Indian family based in city of Nagpur which is famous for oranges and unbearable summer, no alcohol abuse or any other kind, no bullying in school, no emotional, family or financial setbacks whatsoever, as I was finishing my Engineering degree, I realized that my affectionate father never knew how to express his feelings and build a good communication rapport with his children. He was always a man of few words when it came to conversing with kids. I could go discussing stuff with my mother for hours and we would still have plenty to talk about but it was opposite in case of my father which really worried me. I thought he would be more open to me after I left my home to pursue higher studies but things did not change and we hardly spoke on phone.So here I was in the US on June 7, 2013, a fine Friday morning 7:15 AM when I got a call from my older brother saying my father met with an accident and we both had to leave to India. Some guy on motorbike crashed into him. I felt like my whole world came to a sudden halt. Worst thoughts started bombarding my mind as I was crying helplessly. For a moment, I felt that my dad had passed away and my brother was lying to me (or he was given wrong news from my relatives in India) so that I could maintain composure until I reached home.I called my mom and hung up immediately after saying, "Mom, I am coming!"Somehow, I managed the everlasting 24 hour journey until I finally reached my hometown and went to the hospital. Nobody was allowed to visit him and pile of relatives was gathered outside increasing my heartbeats about the severity of accident. Doctors said that my father had developed subdural hematoma (swelling in brain) due to head injury and he couldn't be operated as they wanted to wait for 4 days to drain off the effect of any medication he was on. Although my father never went into coma, his swelling increased everyday slowly approaching the median of brain thereby increasing the risk of operation and his chances of survival. On the fourth day, doctor asked me to sign the consent form of HIGH RISK operation which I signed crying like a 10 year old kid. Seeing your loved one battling for life and not being able to do anything about it is the worst feeling one can go through. I was hiding my tears behind the pillars in the corridor of hospital from my mother just so she thinks I'm being very positive and strong in this tough time. I was hoping that everything will be fine but scared at the same time about what would happen if things took a bad turn. I usually don't pray but in times like these, one needs to have faith in somebody or something just to keep that slim hope alive.In the decompressive craniotomy surgery, doctors had to cut through my father's scalp, further carve out piece of skull on the affected area, remove the blood clot and put back the skin as it is (meaning my dad won't have a complete skull on his brain). Thankfully the surgery went fine but the doctors weren't really sure about how my father would behave or how much memory will he have retained post surgery.He was admitted in hospital for 1 month during which me and my brother took turns to spend 24 hours in hospital on alternate days. He was not allowed to meet anybody else other than me, brother and my mother due to risk of infection. To our surprise, he did remember us as his kids but nothing more than that. Although he remembered his childhood very well. He went back about 50 years in his life (he is 63). In that one month, he shared all of his childhood experiences and stories with me making me laugh out loud on some occasions and getting me in tears otherwise. He shared his childhood secrets, regrets, ambitions, his first love and many other things.... :) I looked after him like a parent in India for over 2 months right from brushing his teeth in morning to making sure he is sleeping well at night. Occasionally he gets upset about his permanent disfigured looks and I have to act like a parent to motivate and assure him that no matter what, we all love him to bits and this will never change! He is pretty much independent now and his memory is back to normal in these three months which allowed me to get back to my work in US.Never in my wildest dreams, did I ever think that this is how my wish will be granted that now, I talk to him more than I talk to my mother. Life is unpredictable! Really!