Family of nurse Amber Vinson lawyers up.

[MoonRiver]

In the statement, obtained by CBS affiliate WOIO in Cleveland, the family said they "are troubled by some of the negative public comments and media coverage that mischaracterize Amber and her actions."

"Suggestions that she ignored any of the physician and government-provided protocols recommended to her are patently untrue and hurtful. In the interest of Amber and our family, we have retained esteemed attorney Billy Martin to provide us with legal counsel during this unfortunate and troubling time," the family said in the statement.

Martin's past clients include Michael Vick and disgraced former Idaho Senator Larry Craig.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ebola-patient-amber-vinson-hires-high-powered-attorney/

[davidpdx]

1. Esteemed, more like idiot

He represented someone who killed dogs and another who hates gays but solicited sex from other men in an airport bathroom and then lied about it.

[MoonRiver]

2. Wondering why they would hire any lawyer, much less someone like him.

Hardly creates a great optic!

[davidn3600]

3. Maybe concerned Vinson may get sued if someone gets Ebola from the plane or bridal shop

[MoonRiver]

4. Still, seems a little premature.

Hiring lawyers tends to put everybody on the defensive and frankly looks like you've got something to hide.

[blackspade]

9. That is a silly misconception.

Lawyering is simply smart in the face of increasing media pressure.

[MoonRiver]

11. Why would media pressure cause one to hire a lawyer?

Wonder if there are already lawsuits being filed against Vinson.

[blackspade]

14. Because the media likes to make shit up?

Especially over Ebola, in an effort to gin up ratings.
We should never fall back on the 'if you have nothing to hide' trope.
In this case legal council is smart.

[Yo_Mama]

17. He probably approached the family

But considering what I've read and the ongoing political move to assign all blame to the hospital and the medical staff, I don't think it's a bad idea. We are a very litigious society.

It's not uncommon for people to be named in lawsuits for shit like this.

If I were her family, I'd be furious and deeply distrustful.

[peacebird]

5. He probably approached them, 'offering' his services......

Wants the ink, been a while since he was in the national news....

[davidpdx]

7. Very true

[freedom fighter jh]

10. "Self monitoring" means keeping tabs on oneself --

tracking one's own health. Doesn't say anything about living in a quarantine.

Remember that when she took that flight everyone was talking about how contagious Ebola isn't, and there were no clear protocols. When the Ebola patient came to the ER for the second time, he was left in the general ER population for hours. At that point, he'd been clearly symptomatic for days, and no one worried enough about exposure to isolate him -- yet.

In retrospect it seems she could have contracted Ebola just from being exposed to him early in his hospital stay. At the time, though, we kept hearing that exposures like the exposure she'd had to him, and the exposure she'd be giving to people on the airplane, seemed negligible.

[kaiden]

12. And this thread shows why the family hired a lawyer.

There will be passengers on that plane who will sue because she did not stay home and self-monitor, causing them fear and pain and suffering. She will be sued by parents whose children were kept at home by Ohio school districts, causing the parents to miss work and thus incur lost wages. Perhaps she will be sued by concessionaires who might have sold her a cup of coffee and a bagel. The baggage handlers. The flight attendants. One can quibble about the reputation of the attorney the family hired, but the family was right in hiring an attorney. There will be large sums of money involved and many lawsuits filed. Each one will state, "Defendant should have known..."

[TBF]

13. Exactly - people are trained in this country

to pounce on the individual. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with systemic issues such as CDC giving her clearance to go about her business. I don't blame her at all for protecting herself with legal representation. She may well need it.

[PADemD]

15. Not to mention the bridal shop that had to close to be cleaned by the CDC.

How much money did they lose by closing? Were there any order cancellations?

[kaiden]

16. The string of wronged persons and entities is long.

The CDC will claim governmental immunity, too, so Amber Vinson will be on her own.

[winstars]

8. Billy Martin, great manager of the Yankees, loved those teams in the late 70's and early 80's!!!