Ethics Edge
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Real talk on ethics,
advocacy, and nursing
with integrity.
Ethics Edge
Real talk on ethics,
advocacy, and nursing
with integrity.
Jodi O'Malley, MSN RN | June 11, 2025 | 5 min read
Grace Schara’s Story: The COVID-19 Case That Could Change Everything
Image courtesy of FOX 11 News / fox11online.com
In October 2021, 19-year-old Grace Schara was admitted to Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, Wisconsin. A bright, spirited young woman with Down syndrome, Grace had tested positive for COVID-19. Her family, like so many others at the time, sought help from the medical system they trusted. They expected healing. They believed in hope.
Grace never came home.
The Death That Sparked a Lawsuit
Grace’s story is now at the heart of a groundbreaking wrongful death lawsuit — the first of its kind involving a COVID-19 patient whose death certificate still reads U07.1, the CDC’s code for death by COVID. But Grace’s parents and their legal team argue something far more tragic: it wasn’t COVID-19 that killed her — it was the hospital protocol
A protocol that included:
A potent cocktail of sedatives: Precedex, lorazepam, and morphine
An unauthorized Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order
The forced removal of her father from her hospital room
Now, Grace’s family is doing what so many others were unable or afraid to do — they’re taking their fight for justice to a jury.
They Said You Couldn’t Sue—They Were Wrong
Ascension Health’s defense? Discredit and deflect.
Their legal strategy has included framing Grace’s parents as "conspiracy theorists" and questioning their credibility as non-medical professionals. They’ve leaned heavily on academic experts from elite institutions to argue that Grace died from the progression of COVID-19 or complications from Down syndrome.
What they haven’t explained:
Why Grace was given such a dangerous drug combo
Why a DNR was issued without consent
Why a parent was forced to leave her side
The family's legal team, however, has stayed grounded in data, policy, and patient rights, revealing a story not just of poor judgment — but of systemic failure.
Follow the Money: The ICU Billing Code Loophole
One of the most damning revelations in this case involves ICU billing practices. Administering Precedex elevates a patient's status to ICU-level, triggering a higher billing code, regardless of whether the patient is physically moved to the ICU.
Grace received Precedex while still in a general care room — a move that may have benefited the hospital financially, but one that arguably endangered her life. Coupled with lorazepam and morphine, the sedation level was excessive and unjustifiable.
Why This Trial Matters
Grace’s family believes her Down syndrome influenced how she was treated — not just clinically, but morally.
Research has shown that individuals with Down syndrome are disproportionately assigned DNR orders, often without family consent. In fact, during the pandemic, people with intellectual disabilities were up to six times more likely to receive DNRs, according to the Harvard Gazette.
The implication: Grace’s life may have been seen as less valuable. Her parents’ objections, less valid.
This trial isn’t just about medical malpractice. It’s about disability rights. Human rights. Parental rights.
The Power of the Advocate at the Bedside
Grace’s father was her fiercest advocate — until he became an “inconvenience.” His ejection from the hospital room is a chilling example of how hospitals, during COVID, increasingly treated family members as threats instead of partners.
Nurse David Wayne, on Nurses Out Loud, described this shift as part of a larger culture of control: “It’s not about safety. It’s about silencing dissent.”
When families were locked out, patient care suffered. When questions were raised, they were dismissed. Grace was left without the one person who could have spoken for her — and she paid the price.
A System in the Spotlight
This trial exposes something deeper than one family’s heartbreak. It shines a light on:
Protocol over personalization
Financial incentives outweighing clinical judgment
Legal immunity shielding unethical practices
The dangerous weaponization of pandemic language
From “our patience is wearing thin” to “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” narratives during COVID served not just to inform, but to silence. To discredit. To isolate.
This case is breaking that silence.
Why It Matters — For All of Us
Whether you’re a nurse, a patient, a parent, or a whistleblower — this trial is yours, too. It represents every clinician who watched protocols harm patients. Every family who never got answers. Every body returned in a sealed bag with a death certificate that didn’t match the story.
Grace Schara was not a number. She was not a billing code. She was a daughter. A light. A life that mattered.
Her family’s courage is not just a legal effort. It’s a movement — for accountability, for ethical care, and for the return of humanity to medicine.
Support the Schara Family
Learn More About Ethical Nursing & Advocacy
Jodi O'Malley, MSN RN | June 05, 2025 | 4 min read
Grace Schara's Case: A Wake-Up Call for Patient Rights, Informed Consent, and the Right to an Advocate
Image courtesy of FOX 11 News / fox11online.com
In October 2021, 19-year-old Grace Schara — a young woman with Down syndrome and a radiant, joyful presence — was admitted to Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, Wisconsin, after testing positive for COVID-19.
Days later, she was gone.
Her death has now led to a landmark wrongful death jury trial — the first in the U.S. involving a COVID-19 patient whose death certificate still lists COVID as the cause. But her parents insist that wasn’t the cause of death. They allege her death was the result of medical negligence, a lack of informed consent, and a DNR order they never agreed to — all while she was isolated and sedated without cause.
The Allegations
Grace’s family asserts that:
She was given a powerful combination of Precedex, lorazepam, and morphine despite being stable and alert.
A Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order was placed on her chart without any family consent.
When her father, Scott Schara, questioned the care plan and advocated for his daughter, he was escorted out of the hospital by security.
Grace died shortly after — alone, unable to advocate for herself, and without her loved ones by her side.
Her Disability Made Her More Vulnerable — And Less Protected
We must acknowledge an uncomfortable but crucial truth: Grace had Down syndrome. And during the COVID era, patients with disabilities were often viewed differently — not necessarily by every individual, but by institutional policies and attitudes that devalued certain lives.
Families across the country have shared similar stories — of treatment plans being altered or withheld due to assumptions about quality of life or “expected outcomes.”
Let’s be clear: having Down syndrome does not make someone less deserving of life. In fact, it makes them more deserving of thoughtful, person-centered care and family advocacy at every step.
Grace wasn’t just another patient. She was a member of a vulnerable class — and she needed protection, not isolation.
Removing the Advocate Wasn’t Just Cold — It Was Dangerous
Grace’s father was her legal advocate, caregiver, and fiercest protector. When the hospital removed him from the building, they stripped Grace of her voice. And they did so in a moment when she needed him most.
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control. And it happened all over the country during the pandemic.
Instead of early treatment, hospitals told patients to “wait until you’re blue.” Instead of supporting immune function or treating inflammation early, they defaulted to rigid protocols. And when families pushed back, they were shut out — literally.
Why This Trial Matters
This case will test whether a jury is willing to look beyond the checkbox of a COVID diagnosis and confront the systemic ethical failures that occurred in its name. The Schara family’s lawsuit alleges:
• Negligence
• Lack of Informed Consent
• Medical Battery
If successful, this trial could open the door for thousands of families who’ve been carrying the same burden — quietly, painfully, and alone.
Protocols vs People
What we’ve seen — and what this case reveals — is that hospital policies during COVID prioritized protocols over people. Paperwork over presence. Control over compassion.
And the most vulnerable — like Grace — paid the ultimate price.
Her Life Mattered
Grace Schara was not just a patient. She was a daughter, a sister, a light in her community. She had Down syndrome, yes — and that made her different. But not disposable.
If anything, it made her more sacred.
And that’s what this case is about: the sanctity of life. The right to consent. The right to a voice at the bedside. And the right to ask, What really happened to our loved ones?
📢 Follow the trial.
🎙️ Share her story.
✝️ Stand for truth — especially for those who were silenced.
Because if Grace didn’t deserve this, neither did any of the others.
Jodi O'Malley, MSN RN
Jodi O’Malley, MSN, RN is a multifaceted professional, encompassing roles as an author, columnist, radio host, and motivational speaker. With a background as a transformative life strategist and a faith-based master’s prepared ER nurse, her career path took a dramatic turn when her advocacy for transparency in healthcare led to her sharing an insider video with Project Veritas. This courageous act revealed significant underreported vaccine injuries and systemic corruption within the healthcare system, where policies overshadowed patient rights.
Jodi O'Malley, MSN RN
Jodi O’Malley, MSN, RN is a multifaceted professional, encompassing roles as an author, columnist, radio host, and motivational speaker. With a background as a transformative life strategist and a faith-based master’s prepared ER nurse, her career path took a dramatic turn when her advocacy for transparency in healthcare led to her sharing an insider video with Project Veritas. This courageous act revealed significant underreported vaccine injuries and systemic corruption within the healthcare system, where policies overshadowed patient rights.
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