Steps to a Lawsuit

The initial step is the initiation of the lawsuit. The plaintiff initiates the proceeding by filing a complaint. Mediation and arbitration are alternate means to settle the claim outside the courtroom. Secondly is pleadings and pretrial motions. This step consists of written documents that give the basis of the legal claim. The defendant can file a counterclaim or either party may ask for a motion to dismiss. Any amendments or supplements are addressed here as well. Amendments can add new information or correct information already in the documentation; whereas, supplement filings provide information to existing facts before the court (Guido, 2010). At this stage either party can request various motions. These motions are supported with a brief and argued before a judge. Pretrial discovery of evidence makes up step three of the process. The right of discovery includes interrogatories and depositions. In addition, document requests, independent examinations and subpoenas of witnesses may also be issued. Pretrial hearings are held and settlements may be offered. Step four includes jury selection and opening statements. The plaintiff's and then the defendant's cases are presented with cross-examination opportunities for each party. The jury begins deliberations after instructions are given and a verdict is reached. The appeals process comprises step five and moves through the levels of courts; from appellate to state supreme then federal court. After the highest level of appeal has been reached step six, execution of judgment, allows for payment or imprisonment of the responsible party.

Terri Schiavo was deemed incompetent to make her own medial decisions. Her parents tried to win guardianship from her husband, Michael. As a married woman this legal responsibility fell to her husband, by statutory default, because he is the legal next of kin and she did not have a medical power of attorney. "These default surrogates are the most numerous type of surrogate" (Pope, 2012). Either side could call neurologists to testify about Terri's potential to recover or, in Michael's case, inability to recover brain function. Physical therapists could also shed some light on her ability to recover from musculoskeletal contractures. Terri's parents challenged her husband's surrogacy because they did not agree with his interpretation of her wishes or feel he acted in her best interest.

The Schiavo's sued physicians, Prawer and Igel, for medical negligence. The suit claimed that the physicians failed to diagnose Terri's bulimia and that subsequently lead to hypokalemia and lethal dysrhythmias (Schiavo v. Prawer and Igel, 1992). The end result was cardiac arrest and hypoxic brain injury. Physicians that specialize in eating disorders to prove Terri's bulimia was undiagnosed, internist to connect hypokalemia to the bulimia, and psychiatrists to prove that she exhibited diagnosable signs of bulimia