Personal Injury Law

Judge Issues Arrest Warrant For Mom In Daniel Hauser Case

By Chrissie Cole

A Minnesota judge has issued an arrest warrant for Colleen Hauser after she and Daniel did not appear for court yesterday. The hearing was scheduled to review an X-ray ordered by the court to assess whether the Daniel's cancer was worsening.

In a video on CNN, Anthony Hauser, the boy's father, urges his wife and son to come back.

Despite state and national crime alerts that were issued Tuesday afternoon, the Brown County sheriff's office reported that the boy and his mother still haven't been found.

Brown County District Judge John R. Rodenberg gave Daniel's parents until May 19 to select an oncologist to treat his Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system.

According to Anthony Hauser, he last saw his wife Monday night at the family's farm, when she told him she was leaving 'for a time.'

His family opposes the proposed course of treatment which includes chemotherapy.

Daniel and his mother were seen in Dr. James Joyce's office on Monday. In the hearing yesterday, Dr. Joyce testified that the boy has an 'enlarged lymph node' near his collarbone. And that the mass in his chest is significantly worsening since his last X-ray in March.

Judge Rodenberg has issued a contempt order for the mother. He also ordered that Daniel be placed in a foster home as soon as he is located, then sent to a pediatric oncologist for treatment.

Daniel's court-appointed attorney, Philip Elbert, said he considers his client to have 'diminished capacity' due to his age and illness and believes his cancer should be treated by a cancer specialist.

Elbert also added he does not believe Daniel -- who, according to court papers has a learning disability and is unable to read – lacks the ability to make an informed decision regarding his treatment.

Daniel reportedly began chemotherapy in February but stopped. Dr. Bruce Bostrom says the tumor shrank with the first treatment but has since grown. Altogether the family has seen five specialists who all recommend radiation and chemotherapy.

Without conventional treatment, Daniel's chances for survival are five percent. With chemotherapy and radiation his chance of a cure rises to 90 percent, doctors say in court documents.

The family opted for a holistic medical treatment based upon Native American healing practices called Nemenhah and rejected further treatment.

The treatments incorporate acupuncture points, use of botanicals, and kinesiology. #

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on May 20, 2009 (boomark / email).