Author: Heidi Hemmat

What I’ve learned from brain injured children

I was driving home after a really long shoot capturing a day in the life of a 3-year-old brain injured boy, we will call “Leo.”

I was looking at the sunset, thinking about the beauty of the world, when I became instantly aware of my effortless breathing, in and out, something Leo could not do. I thought about my ability to swallow, my ability to comprehend, my hands controlling the steering wheel, my eyes that see, my ears that hear, and then I felt the tears. All of these things, Leo could not do. Not even cry, or laugh or smile. I became so overwhelmed with grief and gratitude, tears rolled down my cheeks for what seemed like an hour. I thought to myself, so many people will never experience this. So many people will never learn the lessons I’ve learned from birth injured children. So many people will take this day for granted, and not for a second will they be grateful to breathe, to think, to hold, to talk, to walk, much less run. Gratitude is the number one lesson I’ve learned from brain injured children (and their parents).

They’ve taught me what it means to fight. Brain injured children and their parents fight for their lives everyday. The parent’s of these children suction their mouths and noses, so they can breathe. They prepare and replace feeding tubes all day long and into the night. They need medication several times a day. To sit up, they need a special chair. To take steps, another special chair. These parents know what it means to fight for their children. The fight never ends. Spend a few hours with these families, and you’ll realize everything you’ve ever fought for pales in comparison.

I’ve also learned what it means to love. Unconditional love is the most beautiful thing in the world. Not everyone will experience it. But when I see a parent look at their brain injured baby’s face, really look at them, I see unconditional love on their faces. They do not see what the child cannot do. They do not see the unjustness of how their child ended up this way. They do wallow in how hard it is to care for them –all they feel is unconditional love. These parent’s will do whatever it takes to give their child the best possible life. Their biggest fear, is losing them. Inevitably, birth injured children die too soon.

My final thought for this blog is “selflessness.” Before I became a mom, I was guilty of putting myself first sometimes. After I became a parent, I learned what it means to be selfless. It means putting the needs of your children, your spouse, your parents, even your pet –first. Parent’s of brain injured children are beyond selfless. They never have time for themselves. They pour every ounce of energy, strength, patience, love, compassion and kindness into their brain injured children. You know what else? They don’t complain about it either. They are so focused on their children’s needs, that’s all that matters to them.

We could all learn a lot from brain injured children (and their parents).

Finally, justice for Coloradans affected by wrongful death.

I really couldn’t believe how victims of medical malpractice were treated when I first started producing settlement documentaries and day in the life videos for legal cases. Up until now, if your loved one was killed because their doctor made a critical mistake, their life was only worth $250,000 if you sued the doctor, nurse or hospital. That’s it! Thanks to caps on damages that Colorado voters passed back in the 1980’s.

The insurance companies did a great job convincing voters that caps would be good for Colorado. That it would somehow save money in insurance payouts and that saving would be passed on to you. I don’t know anyone who paid less insurance as a result. In fact, my insurance has gone up every year. But I do know a lot of people –too many people in Colorado –who had a loved one stolen from them due to the negligence of others, and due to the caps, they couldn’t even find a lawyer who would take the case.

You might be thinking, “why do you need money after a loved one is killed by medical malpractice? If that loved one was the bread winner, there is no one to support the family anymore. Think about the emotional pain of suddenly losing your spouse or parent. The survivors often need financial and emotional support. Wrongful death shatters a family.

In most other states, wrongful death cases are worth millions. Here in Colorado, your case is worth more if you break some bones in a car crash. I always thought Coloradans were getting a raw deal.

That’s why I was so relieved to read Colorado governor Jared Polis signed a new law that raises the cap for victims of wrongful death due to negligence from a couple hundred thousand to a couple a million.

The law doesn’t take effect until 2025.

Still, it means Coloradans will finally have a chance to receive financial justice. Doctors, nurses, medical staff and the hospitals they work for will be punished in the pocketbook for making mistakes that cost lives.

No amount of money can replace someone you love, not now, not ever. But Colorado’s cap was salt in the wound for so many families.

Thank you to our clients, new and old!

Thank you to our clients, new and old!

Heidi Hemmat client interview
Heidi Hemmat client interview

 

I just wanted to take some time to thank our clients. So many small businesses are struggling. And while we did slow down this month due Coronavirus concerns affecting our out-of-state travel schedule, our clients have been so wonderful to us –promptly paying invoices, being willing to try ZOOM interviews in place of our professional news cameras and crew in the short term, and promising more cases to come! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to:

 

Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, Florida

Bill Hahn, William E. Hahn, PA, Tampa, Florida

Steve Maher, The Maher Law Firm, Winter Park, Florida

Steve Brady, Brady Law Group, San Rafael, California

Scott Righthand, Righthand Law, San Francisco, California

Neil Eisenberg, Eisenberg Law Office, San Francisco, California

Dunn & Panagotacos LLP, San Francisco, California

Lawrence Knapp, The law Offices of Lawrence Knapp, Stockton, California

Stewart Tabak, Tabak Law Firm, Stockton, California

Michael Padway, Michael Padway & Associates, Oakland, California

Brown, Koro & Romag, Newport Beach, California

Chapa Law Group PC, Phoenix, Arizona

Garrey Woner Hoffmaster & Peshek, P.C., Scottsdale, Arizona

John Leader, Leader Law Firm, Tucson, Arizona

The law office of Jojene Mills, Tucson, Arizona

Bradley Paul Elley Esquire, Incline Village, Nevada

Wagstaff & Cartmell, Kansas City, Missouri

Miller Schirger LLC, Kansas City, Missouri

Leventhal Puga, Denver, Colorado

Burg Simpson, Englewood, Colorado

Greg Gold, The Gold law firm, Denver, Colorado

Bachus & Schanker law firm, Denver, Colorado

Anderson Hemmat, Greenwood Village, Colorado

 Elkus & Sisson, P.C., Glendale, Colorado

Bell & Pollock, P.C., Denver, Colorado

Larson & Larimer, P.C., Greenwood Village, Colorado

Anderson Injury law firm, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Gaddis, Herd, Craw & Adams, P.C., Colorado Springs, Colorado

Jim Gilbert, The Gilbert Law Group, Arvada, Colorado

Don Slavik, Slavik Law, Steamboat Springs, Colorado and Newport Beach, California

The Sanders law firm, Covington, Kentucky

I won’t get Coronavirus

Heidi Hemmat standingNot because I’m drowning myself in bleach, wearing masks on planes or covering my hands in surgical gloves like the family I saw at Denver International Airport when I returned from my business trip. (Yes, I’m still getting on planes and traveling all across the country to produce stories about victims of medical malpractice, wrongful death, personal injury, wrongful death, product liability–I have to and more importantly, I want to–it’s still my life’s calling.) The reason I won’t get Coronavirus –is the same reason I don’t get the Flu (and never had a flu shot). I’m healthy. I get up everyday –even if that means 4am –and I sweat. I workout hard. I eat healthy food. Instead of hoarding pasta and packaged sausages, I go to the grocery store and pick out my fresh produce and select my meat, chicken or fish. I prepare healthy, home cooked meals for my family. I turn off the news when I start to feel fearful, or sad, or depressed or discouraged. I avoid people who bring me down. I pray, I meditate. I live in faith, not fear. The most important story I saw yesterday –in the midst of the Coronavirus coverage–that I caught by accident as I was flipping to Disney channel (where there is always a happy ending) was a quick blurb about Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy. He was diagnosed last year with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The 1 year survival rate is just 18 percent. He thinks he’s alive today because of his positive attitude. Not kidding. He believes thinking positively beat pancreatic cancer. That’s what I am going to –be positive. Have faith not fear. Be kind and compassionate. If I see someone sick or hurting, I won’t turn away–I’ll ask if they need help and help them -even if it means touching their hand. That’s how I’ve always lived my life and that’s why I believe I am blessed with a loving family, successful business and most of all, happiness. I encourage you to do the same, use the homeopathic remedies to boost your immunity (of course, wash your hands and don’t go out and cough on people if you are sick–that’s a no brainer), but do something for your health –meditate, climb a mountain, try alternate therapies, work out, sweat, eat healthy and be positive.

Lawyers are good people too

Western Trial Lawyers Association – Heidi Hemmat

I know what you are thinking, “what? I hate lawyers, what do you mean, lawyers are good people?” Well, they are.

I am just returning from the Western trial lawyers association convention in Park City, Utah. I sponsor this convention because it’s a great way to market Heidi Hemmat Productions. As many of you already know, when I left my investigative reporter position at KDVR/KWGN, I started my own business–producing documentaries about severely injured people that help settle their legal cases out of court.

When I attend these conventions, I often listen to the lawyer’s presentations. If you hate lawyers, you probably assume the attorneys are talking about their biggest cases, the ones where they made the most money. So, you might be surprised to learn, most often, they are talking about the cases they took on because it was the right thing to do–cases about old people abused in nursing homes (usually–no money in that), or little kids molested by catholic priests–(hard to believe, but there’s no money in that either). I listen to their stories with awe and amazement, especially when I see grown men, tough attorneys, choking back the tears. Many of their presentations make me want to cry because, I too, have spent most of my life looking into the eyes of people who have been through enormous pain. I’ve cried with them, I cry afterwards, sometimes I think about them in the middle of the night. I never, ever forget them. I pray for them and everyday I thank God–that there but for the grace of God go I.

So trust me when I say, lawyers are good people. Yes, there are jerks in every profession. A lot of people hate reporters too, but when I think about all the good I was able to do for people by simply telling their stories with compassion and empathy–I know I was helping people. Now I feel like I am doing my life’s work–because the people I do documentaries about–their stories aren’t “newsworthy” but what happened to them is every bit as bad and many of them live in a private hell–unable to even tell their own stories. Those people need me, and they need their lawyers, especially the ones who aren’t afraid to cry.

Why I Left KDVR and TV News

Heidi Hemmat | Why I Left KDVR and TV News

Why I Left KDVR and TV News

UPDATE: 6/27/2024

As I read back this post, I am blown away that it has actually been 8 years, almost to the date, since I left TV news forever, and started my own production company.  After 22 years of being an investigative reporter, a dream that I made come true by working for free, and interning for credit, I never thought I would not only ask to be let out of my contract, but upon reflection, be so grateful that I did.
The one question I get more often than any other is, “don’t you miss being on TV?”  I totally understand the question. It does seem like a really glamorous career to a lot of people. The truth is, it is a anything but. I made $12k a year for working 12 hours a day. Producing the morning news at TV 18 in Lafayette, Indiana, which meant writing everything from “Good Morning, I’m ____anchor name. To “Thanks for watching, join us for TV 18 at noon. Then after that shift, requiring I get up at 2am and report to a roach invested television station, I got to come home, cry in my cereal, and go back for the station morning meeting at 8am, just for an opportunity to be a reporter on the 5pm and 6pm newscast.
After paying my dues for 5 years, going from Lafayette to South Bend to Indy and finally to my home, Denver, Co., at 9news, (and later, at FOX 31), my first day was the Columbine High school shooting.  At the time,our grieving community took comfort in the words, “never again.” But it did happen again and again and again and I had to cover those horrific tragedies. They seeped into my soul. I suffered from PTSD. I would wake up in the middle of the night and cry for the parent who lost a loved one, and have to get up the next morning and do it again. There was never an end to the unthinkable acts committed by those who’s purpose was to inflict pain. I had to live and breath it day after day.
So, no, I don’t miss it. Not even a little bit. Now when a mass shooting happens, I turn the channel and make sure my kids don’t see it. I enjoy snow days, no longer stuck on the side of the road, telling viewers not to go out. I cherish school drop off and pick up. I get to cheer on my kids at field day, volunteer for field trips, make my own schedule, and be my own boss.
And I get to tell really meaningful, powerful, emotional stories. The people I meet are just like you and me, only they became victims of a personal injury accident, medical malpractice, defective product, wrongful death.  Some of the people I meet never had a chance for a normal life, because they suffered a birth injury that left them severaly brain injured due to someone else’s negligence. Some people I meet led a full life before they were severely injured, and now all they have are their memories. These people need their stories told. I’m blessed to be able to be their voice, and help resolve the legal battle that takes on a life of its own. I am blessed to have a compassionate team of former news people, who like me, appreciate being able to use their talent for a more meaningful purpose.   
Truthfully, being self employed can be scary at times. The “feast and famine” aspect of any small business really stresses me out. To this day, my biggest fear is failure. I still have nightmares that I am back in the newsroom with my worst news directors. In the dream, I say to myself, “how did I end up back here? I must have failed.”
I believe if you follow your heart, work hard, live in kindness and compassion, and pray, you will reap what you sow.  If you ever wake up and think, “I’m stuck in my career. It’s not what I thought it would be. I’m unhappy,” you can make a change. Even if you are in your 40’s, (I was 45 when Ieft TV news). It’s not too late.

Heidi Hemmat - The story that nearly got me killed

So, I think people are just starting to realize I am no longer with KDVR or on TV.

Not surprising since there was no official announcement or acknowledgement from the station’s management. The reason I left is downright terrifying. Many of you remember the “dumpster dive,” that was a promo for the station–me standing in a guy’s dumpster confronting him about destroying documents that he was ordered to turn over by the Colorado Attorney general’s office. The consumer fraud charges and criminal case against him were the result of a 4 part investigation–I worked very hard to expose this guy–and in the end, I paid a very high price.

There’s a reason why I’m not saying his name–it’s because I’m still scared of him. Shortly after he learned about the charges against him, that were a direct result of me, I got a call from his psychiatrist. She told me he was “homicidal” and was planning to kill me. The psychiatrist thought the threat was so credible, she broke HPPA laws (the laws that protect medical records of psychos, such as the theater shooter–James Holmes) to warn me. She informed me he was on a “72 hour mental hold” but because it was 4th of July weekend, (2015) he would likely be released before then. She then asked me if I had somewhere else I could go because he knew where I lived and of course, where I worked. I remember the chill that ran from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. Of course I had nowhere to go! I have 2 children, then 1 and 3, I couldn’t just leave on a whim –where would I go? And when would I return? Would it ever be safe?

I filed reports with police stations, got a restraining order, the guy even ended up in an ankle bracelet–but my sense of safety was gone–and the way I viewed my job–forever changed. Unfortunately, my boss didn’t see it that way, she did pay for a few days of security at my home, undercover Denver police officers, but when the weekend came, she expressed concern about how much it was costing and downplayed the threat “he’s not going to do anything to you,” she said, “if he was going to kill you he would have done it by now.” And from that point forward, there was no more station provided security. The next 6 months were awful. I distinctly remember a day when the guy “tampered with his ankle monitor” and I was informed by the victim advocate that he had broke it and the county could not track him. I promptly put my kids in the car and started driving, where? I don’t know. But as they babbled in their little toddler way in the back seat, all I could do was hide my fear, never letting on that their mommy could be taken from them–worse –they could be injured in the crossfire. By the way, I also by this point had a gun for the first time in my life.

My boss, once again feigned empathy and concern…but I know now she always thought I was over-reacting. Meantime, the case against this guy was moving forward (for consumer fraud) and every time he was in court, my boss wanted a follow up story. I finally went to her and said “we solved this problem, he is no longer in business, he’s facing millions of dollars in penalties and nobody will ever be ripped off again, can’t we just stop following this story? I feel my life is in danger every time we do.” Her response, I’ll never forget, “Heidi, we’re journalists, we are not going to stop doing stories just because he had a temper tantrum.” A “temper tantrum,” his psychiatrist certainly didn’t see it that way. And we had dropped stories before–for much less…let’s just say, if you advertised you had a much less chance of being on TV for a bad reason…Regardless of how I felt, I still powered through. I even chased down an electrician with my high heels and purse for the May ratings period. All the bosses were happy, but I knew I couldn’t keep ambushing people who did bad things to other people. Society has changed. People have changed. My physical and mental health were unraveling. As soon as that ratings period ended I took an unpaid leave of absence, and in August I asked to be let out of my contract. My boss sent out a note to the staff that failed to acknowledge my 15 years of service at KDVR, the 6 Emmy awards I had won for the station or the fact that I had literally put my life on the line. It just said “Heidi is no longer an employee of FOX 31.”

I write this blog now, and it feels good to get the pain I felt off my chest. But what really feels good, so, so good, is looking at my family and my kids –and knowing mommy isn’t doing anything unsafe in the name of journalism. I have spent more time with my kids in the past 6 months than in the entire 4 years of my son’s life. My kids are happy, my husband is happy, our marriage is stronger than ever, and what really feels good –is Heidi Hemmat Productions is going to have an incredible year, especially for a less than 1 year old company. Thank you to my family, thank you to my clients, thank you to my friends, thank you to my fans, but most of all THANK YOU GOD. In my darkest time, you answered my prayers and out of nowhere, lawyers started calling me–looking for legal case documentaries. Words cannot express my gratitude.

Heidi Hemmat

Legal Day in the Life Videos, Settlement Documentary, Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death, Heidi Hemmat