Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Do I any legal rights to visit my father in the hospital?

My biological father has been in the hospital in intensive care for a week. He should be moving to a regular room in a few days. There was a DNA test done 9 years ago and since that time he has been a father to me in every since of the word. The problem has been his wife. He is in the public eye and she has never accepted the fact that he had a child with someone else, years before he met her. He, on the other hand has openly and publicly accepted me as his daughter. He calls me 4 to 5 times a week and has for the last 9 years. We see each other regularly and he's become a huge part of my life. My children call him grandpa. The problem is that his wife is not allowing me to visit my father even once he gets out of intensive care. Do I have any legal rights to see him? Can she stop me? He's had a stroke, so due to his condition I fear I may never see him again. What rights do I have, if any, to get in to see my father. None of us want a media frensy.


Asked on 8/14/04, 10:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Elizabeth Powell ELizabeth Powell PS Inc

Re: Do I any legal rights to visit my father in the hospital?

If your objective is to avoid publicity, then you should consider talking with the hospital social worker/patient care representative privately. Pursuant to recent HIPPA rules, the hospital may not give you information regarding your father, but there is nothing to prevent you disclosing information to your father's social worker/patient care representative. If you explain to that person what you have asked here, that person can probably get you the access you want. Short answer: in the abscence of a restraining order, your step-mother cannot prevent your contact with your father. If he has a d.p.o.a. set up or a guardianship, that person may be able to shut you out, but assuming for the sake of argument that your father is reasonably competent, when he learns you were denied access to him, he probably won't be pleased either. As a final note: Restraining Orders are very easy to get these days, so proceed carefully. As always, the answer I'm providing might be different if I had more facts; I am working with what you provided and I don't have any more to go on. best luck with your situation.

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Answered on 8/15/04, 2:18 pm


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