Schiavo relatives will try to reach deal

The vegetative woman's husband may permit further efforts at treatment after mediation.

By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
© St. Petersburg Times,
published November 17, 2001

Terri Schiavo's feuding relatives appear close to an agreement to allow the brain-damaged woman to receive medical treatment that her parents believe might awaken her from a vegetative state.

Both sides agreed Friday to enter mediation on Dec. 19 to see whether they can come to terms about getting treatment for Mrs. Schiavo, who has spent 11 years in a persistent vegetative state.

A mediated settlement between Mrs. Schiavo's husband and her parents holds the possibility of ending a bitter legal dispute that stems from the Feb. 25, 1990, heart attack that left Mrs. Schiavo on life support.

On the table for discussion will be whether the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, will agree to end their legal fight to keep their daughter alive should the treatment prove fruitless.

"I think my client's willing to say to the Schindlers: "Have your chance,' " said attorney George Felos, who represents husband Michael Schiavo. "If they think physicians can help her, give it a try. But if it doesn't work, then let's end the case rather than perpetuate it."

A potential sticking point is the duration of treatment. The Schindlers' attorneys said they want two years. Felos declined to say whether Michael Schiavo would agree to that.

The case will be mediated by Pinellas-Pasco Senior Judge Horace Andrews. Any settlement must be approved by Circuit Judge George Greer, the trial judge who ruled that Mrs. Schiavo would want to die, given her current state.

Allowing treatment would be a major concession by Michael Schiavo, who has fought to take his wife off her feeding tube. He could not be reached for comment.

Just two months ago, Felos told reporters that his client didn't want to subject his wife to "experimental quackery." But the Schindlers believe their daughter's idle brain cells might "wake up" if she is put into an oxygen chamber and given the right mix of drugs. Attorney Larry Crow, who represents the Schindlers, said Michael Schiavo also has agreed to allow some of the Schindlers' attorneys to view Terri Schiavo for the first time.

Felos has said numerous doctors and courts agree that she is in a persistent vegetative state and can't be cured. But the Schindlers say their daughter responds to people she knows with smiles and laughs and deserves a chance at rehabilitation.

Judge Greer has declined to hold further hearings or allow additional doctors to evaluate Mrs. Schiavo.

Last month, an appeals court ordered that a team of five doctors be allowed to examine Mrs. Schiavo to determine whether treatment would be useful, though it did not order treatment itself. That order, however, would be rendered moot by any mediated settlement, Felos said.

The Schindlers and Michael Schiavo have accused each other of trying to control Mrs. Schiavo's fate to get $700,000 she received from a 1992 malpractice suit. Only about half of that remains; much of it has been used to pay for Schiavo's legal expenses and Mrs. Schiavo's medical care.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright