Legal Question in Personal Injury in Colorado

My nine year old daughter passed away on Sept. 10th of stage 4 brain cancer. The three months leading up to her death my soon-to-ex wife, four kids, and I temporarily moved to Colorado, where my in-laws had rented a house, so we could try to save her life with medical cannabis oil. The first two weeks there were the last two weeks my daughter wasn't bedridden, but not well enough to really go anywhere. My in-laws wouldn't let me inside the house, not even to use the restroom, let alone spend time with my dying daughter. There was no reason for this, other than to be spiteful and hurtful. I've never abused my wife or kids, I have no felony charges of any kind, and was no danger to anyone. The week previous, we spent at my parents, where all of us stayed together in peace. Their horrendous treatment, sleeping and sitting in my car most of each day, and the stress of my daughter getting sicker and closer to death caused me to have a mental breakdown and an attempt at suicide. After a 72 hour psych-eval in the hospital, I was released. A week later Allie took a turn for the worse, and ended up in the hospital, they gave her fluids, and sent her home for hospice/palliative care and continued cannabis oil dosage. The in-laws started to let me in the house a little each day. Since she was under hospice/pallliative end of life care, should I have had unrestricted access to my daughter? Since I was the Caregiver on the Colorado medical marijuana card, I should have had unrestricted access for that as well? Their intentional and spitefully cruel treatment during a time of already heightened stress has caused severe emotional damage. I see a counselor twice a week, have emotional breakdowns once or twice a day, and started taking anti-depressants. Do parents of terminally ill children have rights to visitation, more than the temporary consent order agreed upon at the beginning of the divorce? Since my in-laws were intentionally and purposely keeping her from me, only to cause emotional damage, grief, and more pain...would that be considered personal injury? Do I have a legal claim for either violating my rights of a parent of a terminally ill child, hindering my rights, expectations, and duties as her Caregiver, and/or a personal injury claim?


Asked on 10/06/16, 1:06 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Stephen Harkess Colorado Legal Solutions

A lawsuit is not the answer to your issues. Suing your inlaws would be a great waste of time. Your remedy was to go to court to get court orders allowing you to see your daughter while she was alive. It is too late to get a court involved now. A lawsuit will not lessen your stress and you are not likely to win anything. You should focus your energy on something else.

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Answered on 10/06/16, 7:43 am


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