Avraham and Chaya Fixsler, the frum British couple who heartbreakingly fought to keep their daughter, Alta hy”d, on life support have now been handed a 50,000-pound ($64,000) legal bill after being sued by their solicitors.
Alta was tragically nifteres in a hospice after the High Court denied their valiant attempts to keep her lifesaving medical equipment from being shut off.
The Harris Da Silva legal firm was ordered to help the Fixsler family, but now says they weren’t paid in full for their services.
Alta, who was born with severe brain damage, had lawyers representing the NHS Trust in 2021 stating that her chances of improvement were nonexistent. Seeking guidance, they presented the High Court with the question of whether it was appropriate to discontinue life-sustaining treatment and transition her to palliative care.
However, Alta’s parents, driven by their Jewish faith, could not consent to actions that would result in her death. They instead desired her transfer to Israel, where doctors who shared their religious convictions could provide treatment.
Ultimately, Justice McDonald concluded that it was in Alta’s “best interests” to withdraw treatment, and ordered that she essentially be killed.
Following Alta’s passing and the conclusion of this heart-wrenching dispute, Harris Da Silva filed a claim against the couple for non-payment of two invoices issued earlier in 2021, relating to previous work performed on the case.
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25 Responses
And this is democracy? Mockery!
remember this every time you see something that the Israeli government does that you do not like and remember that at the end of the day, Israel treats Jews better than anywhere else, by far.
The currency exchange is wrong…
Your math is wrong. 50000 British pounds is a lot more than $39000
The evil of the British government knows no limit.
“STUNNING” ??? salt on a wound.. lawyers i hate them! but they need to get paid like any other service. and as far as lawyer bils go this is not big bucks
horofay lishvurei lev..
DW klal yisroel will cover it
I’ll be first in line to donate
When are they setting up a causematch page or wtvr?
The family should know no more tzaar
Re the English government: ashrei mi sheyocheiz vnipeitz es olalayich el hasala
50,000 pounds is not a “massive” legal bill. For all of the work put into this hopeless case…
there was a massive crowdfunding campaign for this cause at the time as surely no regular family income could finance such a legal bill. Could well imagine it still fell short of the total costs. Remember, the courts are not free either.
On the other hand there is such a thing as legal aid in the UK, but not sure, as foreigners if they were eligible.
In Britain, they have stricter rules on collecting attorney’s fees. The people would have been better off with a “pro bono” set of solicitors and barristers (but still would have been on the hook for paying the losing side’s attorney’s fees)
Of course, they would have been better off if they lived in a country that lacked socialized medicine and had no death panels to decide who was worthy to live and who to die (in the US the Democrats keep trying to switch to the British system, so those in power will be able to do more that merely cancel the undesirables).
The underlying tragedy is so horrific it is hard to grasp that this happened in our times. With that said, why would they not have to pay for services that were rendered on their behalf?? Did the lawyers agree to take the case pro bono? If not then of course they need to be paid as agreed.
whats the big deal….start a GoFundMe and klal yisroel will pay his bill..Lets show the world that jewish life is worth $50,000 to keep someone alive and we wont make a chilil hashem by not paying the attorneys bill.
I think we can get 10,000 jews to give $5 each and will create a Kiddish Hashem.
From my understanding of the story the lawyers weren’t paid the contracted amount. Why is it so stunning to ask to get paid for services rendered? I actually believe it’s a chillul Hashem to not pay someone for their services.
TGIShabbos:
who said that attorneys are not entitled to get paid. I assume those people do not have the funds to pay this bill so therefore not to make a Chilil Hashem we as jews should chip in with a minimum of $5 and make a Kiddish Hashem. Let his Family of Kehillah he belongs to start a GoFundMe and they can pay the bill within a month. and i am sure if an Asken gets involved they can negotiate a discount with the Law firm.
I pledge my first $36.00 if this funding goes live.
Rebyossel, there already was a campaign for this family which brought in almost $350,000.
@ccb45
I take it you failed or never took civics, government or world history.
The United KINGDOM of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is not and had never been a democracy. It is a Constitutional Monarchy.
Tgi: so another campaign won’t hurt .
It’s only $5
@rofehardamah : Actually, Google says it’s $64,120.
Not bad enough that evil government murdered their baby, now they’re being charged for it?? Let those evil reshoim who signed the gezeiroh to murder an innocent, helpless baby, and wouldn’t allow her to be moved somewhere that would care for her pay for their crime.
take it of the edge of the Royals, this gift that we all fought for is still a fight….from Above this ANGEL looks upon us
Israel offered to take Alta Z”L and care for her (at no cost to England ). Herzog Hospital in Jerusalem sent an invitation, but England court rejected Israels offer claiming that the hostilities in Gaza would jeopardize poor Alta’s life!!
If this is how they treat their citizens, Englands Jewish community should get up en masse and leave. Israel is waiting.
Klal Yisroel raised massive funds to help the family. Is this for the family’s attorney, or the child’s government assigned attorney, who saw it fit to pull the plug?
the judge decided, playing God are we?
This story is missing critical information. Who was supposed to pay the legal fees? If it was NHS trust, this has nothing to do with the Fixlers. If the Fixlers hired the firm directly, the collected funds should have more than sufficed (as mentioned).
If the family is outside the UK, what do they care? The British solicitors shall have an almost impossible time collecting this money from overseas.