Thread: TN-Immigrant Mother Questions Lawyers' Actions

Immigrant Mother Questions Lawyers' Actions
Mom Says Lawyers 'Ambushed And Coerced' Her

POSTED: 5:15 pm CDT May 29, 2009
UPDATED: 7:00 pm CDT May 29, 2009


NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Mexican mother in a Tennessee child-custody battle involving a severely brain-damaged girl has filed an affidavit raising questions about the actions of several lawyers involved in the case and a related lawsuit.

Ingrid Diaz, 23, is from San Pedro Pochutla, Mexico, and is in the United States illegally, but her daughter is an American citizen who was born in Nashville.

The child, 4-year-old Alessandra Villalobos, requires round-the-clock medical care, and the lawsuit against Vanderbilt University Medical Center could provide millions of dollars for her.

Custody of the child has gone back and forth in the last year between Diaz and nurse Amanda Stinnett, 50, of Nashville.

Lawyers said Alessandra's condition is the result of a medical mishap that happened when she was 3. Diaz is suing the hospital, claiming a doctor punctured one of her daughter's arteries, causing massive internal bleeding, shock and brain damage. The hospital maintains that severe complications from a serious illness, not malpractice, are to blame.

Diaz signed affidavits Tuesday in English and Spanish, saying lawyers "ambushed and coerced" her into signing an agreement that details who will represent her and her daughter in their legal battles.

The agreement dated April 24 is in English, which Diaz cannot read or speak.

Speaking through an interpreter, Diaz said Friday that an interpreter at the meeting with lawyers translated what was said but not the legal papers.

Attorney Blair Durham, whose law firm filed the malpractice suit, disputed her account.

Durham told The Associated Press during a Friday phone interview that a translator read the agreement aloud in Spanish in court before Diaz signed it. Davidson County Probate Court Judge Randy Kennedy also questioned Diaz, asking if she understood the agreement, Durham said.

"I feel bad for Ms. Diaz that she is caught in something she has no control or say so in," Durham said.

The agreement, signed by five lawyers and Diaz, waives the mother's claims to all expenses for her daughter and removes her from the role of guardian in the malpractice suit, allowing the court-appointed guardian to pursue that claim.

Other lawyers who signed the agreement were Mark Chalos, David Lyons and Laura Stewart and the court-appointed guardian for the girl, Jeanan Stewart.

Neither Durham nor Lyons could say whether Diaz has a copy of the agreement and which language it is in.

Messages left for Chalos and Laura Stewart were not immediately returned.

The affidavit from Diaz was filed by Nashville immigration lawyer Elliott Ozment, who was hired by the Mexican consul in Atlanta to investigate how the case was being handled.

Ozment got all attorneys to agree Thursday to withdraw a petition that would have allowed filings in the case to be made in secret.

"I am very suspicious of what is going on here, and the Mexican consulate is, too," Ozment said. "I haven't seen anything that warrants sealing these records. A lot of this stuff, in my opinion, needs to come under the light of day. I am not going to stand by and let people do things in secret."

Durham said Mexico's interest in the cases has caused a conflict, and he said it was improper for Ozment to meet with Diaz without the other lawyers present.

Mexican Consulate General Rene Mejia said Friday it is the consul's responsibility to monitor the best interests of Mexican nationals abroad.

"We are very respectful of law and procedures of the country that we are in, but we want to follow that due process is exactly what it is and advise our nationals that they have proper representation."

Immigration officials have allowed Diaz to remain in the country because of the pending custody and malpractice cases.

A custody hearing is set for July 16.

http://www.wsmv.com/news/19605534/detail.html

Mexican Consulate General Rene Mejia said Friday it is the consul's responsibility to monitor the best interests of Mexican nationals abroad.

[bold][quote:2pd4zga1]"We are very respectful of law and procedures of the country that we are in, but we want to follow that due process is exactly what it is and advise our nationals that they have proper representation."[/bold]

[/quote:2pd4zga1] HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh that's funny! Did he look like this when he said that?