Tuesday, Mar. 07, 2006 - 5:50 a.m.

Legal Work is Emotionally Draining at Times

So begins the second day of my last week as a paralegal.  I had a most depressing day yesterday as it was spent reading through 1,000 + pages of medical records for a case.  Our client is the widow of a man from Round Rock who died after the porta potty service truck he was driving rolled when he was taking a curve.  But that is not what killed him.  He was restrained and was for all intents and purposes not injured in the roll.  The truck caught fire under the hood, and he could not get the seat belt undone.  Eventually though, he was able to free himself, and ran about 200 yards, on fire, to a house along the road.  His clothes burned off of him and he was naked by the time he found someone to call EMS.  He was life flighted to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.  He had 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 87% of his body.  He died 8 days later.  Ultimately, what caused his death was a ruptured colon and the sepsis from that.  He was in incredible pain while in hospital as he was conscious a good portion of the time.  He was able to respond to questions, though on a respirator, as well as simple commands to wiggle his toes and fingers.  The tips of his finders had burned off, his scrotum and penis were burned 3rd degree, as was his head, arms, legs, torso and virtually every inch of him.  I have not seen in his medical records any place he was not burned.  On the day he died, he suddenly went into septic shock, underwent surgery, where it was determined that his colonic rupture was not survivable.  His family were informed of his impending death, and they agreed to cease all life saving efforts.  His wife and he were able to converse a few days earlier, and while she was told by they doctors that he was most likely going to die, they never told him, but, reading between the lines of their conversation, I think deep down he knew.  He was 44 years old.