A few years ago, I had a client who was at war with other family members about how best to treat and care for their injured loved one. At one point, the courts had to get involved! When it comes to these issues, they can honestly be avoided if the family had learned about the following key terms.
Power Of Attorney
A power of attorney is when somebody gives another person the power to make decisions if that person is not able to make decisions. There are two types of these.
Durable Medical Power Of Attorney
The first type is a mental and physical health treatment power of attorney, which is called a durable medical power of attorney. What that specifically says is, if I become unable to make health care choices for myself, then I pick a particular person to make those choices for me.
If this particular person doesn’t want to make those decisions or isn’t alive, to make those decisions, then the next person who can help is called an alternate.
Durable Power Of Attorney
This is sometimes referred to as a statutory durable power of attorney which deals with the property of somebody who’s not able to make decisions on their own. While you can have a medical power of attorney for one person, you can also have another person handling the property through a durable power of attorney.
This is important to know, because if in the future, your loved one may become incapacitated and cannot make decisions because of their TBI. With this paperwork in place, you will know how to handle issues that arise and who exactly is going to handle and make those decisions.
Advance Directive
This is a form that helps the TBI victim communicate medical decisions towards the end of their life including whether or not they want to be resuscitated or intubated. These are all decisions that can be written down and an advance directive provides medical professionals with your or the TBI victims’ decision before it needs to be made.
In the state of Texas, you can get most of these forms on the Texas Health and Human Services website (hhs.texas.gov).
