After losing lawsuit, the family of Grace Schara plans to continue telling her story
Despite a trial verdict in favor of Ascension, the family of 19-year-old Grace Schara, who died at an Appleton hospital in 2021, vows to continue fighting what they say is a David-and-Goliath battle against the country's healthcare system.
"This door has been closed, but when God closes one door, he always opens another," Grace's father Scott Schara said at a news conference June 20, held on the front yard of a home in Appleton where Schara's attorneys stayed during the trial.
Grace died Oct. 13, 2021 at Ascension NE Wisconsin-St. Elizabeth Hospital, seven days after she was admitted for symptoms of COVID-19. While her cause of death was listed as "acute respiratory failure with hypoxia as a result of COVID-19 pneumonia," Scott Schara filed a lawsuit claiming Grace actually died of a lethal concoction of drugs administered to her by hospital staff, then was not saved due to a wrongful do-not-resuscitate order.
For years, the Schara family has worked to bring attention to their daughter's death, with billboards along Interstate 41 and other highways, as well as a website and newsletter. The trial came more than two years after the family's lawsuit was filed in Outagamie County Circuit Court.
At the end of the nearly three-week trial, a 12-person jury deliberated for two hours and came to a verdict June 19 in favor of the hospital. Of the 13 claims the jury answered in the verdict, only two claims had a dissenter — and there was only one dissenter for each of the two claims.
Cindy Schara, Grace's mother, said the verdict was heartbreaking.
"We really did expect the jury to see what they did to Grace," she said. "She was a valuable person in this world. ... This jury, deliberating as quickly as they did in coming up with their verdict, did not give Grace the respect that she deserved."
RELATED: COVID, conspiracy theories and a billboard campaign: Grace Schara's hospital death finally sees trial
While the family's attorneys argued that Grace died of a drug overdose at the hands of medical staff, attorneys for Ascension and defendants Dr. Gavin Shokar and nurse Hollee McInnis, who both cared for Grace in her final days, gave a different version of events. The defendants' attorneys argued that the drugs provided to Grace — precedex, lorazepam and morphine — were routinely provided in hospital intensive care units, and were used in responsible dosages as a way to slow Grace's too-fast breathing to allow her to take in more oxygen.
Shokar testified during the trial that Grace's parents had explicitly said they did not want her to be intubated, which he said would have been the last-case option he had to try to save her life. Shokar said he labeled Grace as both do not intubate and do not resuscitate with Grace's family's consent, after extensive conversations about the futility of CPR when Grace's lungs were not working properly.
The Scharas say differently, claiming they had no knowledge of Grace's do-not-resuscitate status until her heart stopped and medical staff did nothing to try to revive her, despite the family's shouts and begging.
Besides Scott and Cindy, other speakers at the news conference were Grace's sister, Jess Vander Heiden, as well as attorneys Joseph Voiland and Warner Mendenhall. Gathered in the front yard and sidewalk were around two dozen supporters, many of whom wore purple shirts memorializing Grace.
Scott, Cindy and Jess all expressed disappointment with the outcome of the trial, but said they rely on their faith to guide them as they move forward.
"We are trusting that God has this play out the way that He had known it was going to play out," Cindy said.
The Scharas shared some details about the process to bring the case to trial, and thanked the attorneys for their work.
They acknowledged many odds stacked against people taking on lawsuits against the medical system — including that the maximum amount a person can be awarded for non-economic damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit in Wisconsin is $750,000, and the case took "just over a million dollars to bring to trial," Scott said.
Scott also discussed some of his beliefs at the news conference, including that hospitals were inclined to not save COVID-19 patients due to monetary incentives, and that people should avoid going to hospitals whenever possible.
At trial, defense attorneys pointed out some of Scott's beliefs in conspiracies — something the Scharas said they felt was prejudicial and unrelated to Grace's case.
Mendenhall, one of the Scharas' attorneys, echoed similar sentiments to Scott at the press conference, saying going into a hospital involves a patient "sign(ing) their rights away."
Mendenhall said despite the verdict not going in their favor, he was honored to represent the Scharas at the trial.
"On day one, I pretty much said there's no hope for this case, but you have a case," Mendenhall said. "But by the time we got to trial, I think that the world had turned, and I think we did have a chance at trial. And we worked as hard as we could to get a win for the family and for Grace."
Scott said he is not sure what the next step is, but the family plans to continue to fight for medical reform.
The family draws ties between Grace's death and the death of Grace's brother, Travis Schara, who died by suicide in 2018. Cindy said she believes Travis' death was also influenced by an interaction of medications he was taking at the time.
Cindy also said she believes patients with Down Syndrome, like Grace, are not treated justly in hospitals.
"We are crushed, we are shattered, but we are not defeated, and we will continue on," Jess said tearfully at the news conference. "And we know that we will see Grace and our brother Travis again someday. I hold onto that thought of them in heaven together."
Jessica Van Egeren of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: After losing lawsuit, family of Grace Schara plans to continue advocacy
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