Jury to decide if ‘brain dead’ teen may technically be alive
A judge in California has ruled that it is up to a jury to decide whether or not Jahi McMath may technically still be alive.
Jahi McMath was declared brain dead three years ago after a tonsillectomy went wrong. However, a judge in California has ruled that it is up to a jury to decide whether or not the 13-year-old may technically still be alive.
Alameda County Judge Stephen Pulido is letting a malpractice suit move forward that would allow McMath to have her care paid for if her family wins the suit. The family would not be able to claim coverage on those ongoing medical costs if she is considered to be dead.
“This is a massive win both legally and spiritually for the family,” lawyer Chris Dolan told the San Francisco Chronicle. “This mother’s been fighting to have her daughter be counted as a living, breathing human being. She has great faith that a jury will find that her daughter is indeed alive.”
Jahi’s mother, Latasha Spears Winkfield, refused to take her off of life support when she was declared brain dead in December 2013, and she has since been moved to New Jersey, the only state to offer care for families that religiously do not recognize brain death.
However, the hospital is fighting back against the suit stating that the family has not subjected Jahi to more update d tests, such as brain scans, that would determine if she is actually brain dead.
Now, it is up to a jury to decide if Winkfield’s quest to get her daughter moved back to California for her care will come to fruition.
