Learn From Tom

(Press Release)

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., April 27, 2015 – Imagine this: A guardian rips you from your home, sticks you in a rehabilitation clinic for almost a year, cuts you off from your psychiatrist and – one week before a court hearing to determine your fate – drops a file right in your lap weighing three pounds and full of complex legal terms and wild allegations.

That’s exactly what happened to Tom Nithyanand today at Rainbow Rehabilitation of Farmington Hills, Mich., says Tom’s father, Anand Sadashivan.

According to Anand, the complex set of legal filings was given to Tom by staff at Rainbow Rehabilitation to review – just one week before a trial in Oakland County Probate Court in Pontiac, Mich.

Anand says the guardian – Steven Siporin – ordered staff at Rainbow Rehabilitation of Farmington Hills to go through the document with Tom – recovering from a traumatic brain injury – page-by-page. The guardian was not present, says Anand.

“I’m not an expert in guardianship,” says Anand. “But I would really like to know if it is common practice for guardians to give their wards such documents one week before a court hearing to decide one’s fate.”

However, Anand says the move “speaks volumes to what appears to truly be believed about Tom’s great ability to comprehend complex issues and situations.”

Tom was hit by a car June 26, 2010, while walking home from his friend’s house.

Typical of such accidents, the family received an insurance settlement through the driver of the vehicle that hit Tom. The family does not wish to discuss the amount.

Until early 2014 – and as Anand dealt with filing the proper paperwork relating to his immigration status in the U.S. – the money was held by the family’s attorney who had been dealing with court proceedings relating directly to the accident.

Anand is not a U.S. citizen. As a result, the family asked for a court-appointed co-guardian/conservator to help manage the insurance money Tom received from his near-death experience. Anand says it wasn’t even required and that he only wanted to protect his son’s financial future.

Siporin, of Royal Oak, Mich.-based Siporin & Associates, was recommended and met with Anand and Tom two times before being appointed co-guardian (with Anand)/conservator by the court in early 2014. He ensured he would work with them and foster Tom’s continued recovery – take good care of him and manage the situation. A press release detailing Tom’s story can be found here.

According to the Michigan Handbook for Guardians of Adults, guardians are to “respect and advocate for the individual’s rights” and “recognize the impact of guardianship upon an individual’s outlook, and try to minimize negative effects.”

“Dropping a complex legal case built almost entirely on unproven hyperbole and hearsay into the lap of a ward one week before a court hearing seems to go against those basic tenets outlined in the Michigan Handbook for Guardians,” says Anand.

Fortunately, Anand says, Tom and he have always had a good relationship that has grown increasingly better in the last year.

In fact, Anand says that when Tom was given the legal file Monday, Tom’s first thought was to call him and tell him what was happening. Staff at Rainbow Rehabilitation allowed Anand to be present when the file was being reviewed.

And on Saturday, April 25 – on a regular weekend visit home from Rainbow Rehabilitation of Farmington Hills, Mich. – Tom said he is grateful for his father’s relentless commitment to him, despite the entire family having to endure an almost never-ending onslaught of wild, unproven allegations.

Tom said that over a month ago he was cut off from the psychiatrist he had been working with. He says he doesn’t have a psychiatrist currently. Further, he says that while he is able to talk with staff members at Rainbow Rehabilitation of Farmington Hills, it isn’t the same as being able to openly talk about he how feels.

“I really look forward to getting home and talking to my dad,” says Tom. “He’s the one I can open to most.”

Learn From Tom
One day last June, Tom and Anand got into a verbal argument over spending money for an evening Tom had planned with friends – a typical argument for young adults and parents.

Tom mentioned the yelling argument to his case manager who was working close with Siporin, still co-guardian at the time. Full five days later representatives of Siporin showed up with court authorization that made him temporary full guardian and authorized him to rip Tom away from his home and take him to Rainbow Rehabilitation.

On July 23, Siporin managed to convince the court he should be sole guardian of Tom – cutting Tom’s father out of any decisions relating to Tom’s medical and financial activities. At a six-month review in February, a hearing was set for May 4 – Tom would be at Rainbow for another three months and the money for his care would keep flowing into the pockets of those who had the power to recommend his release.

“In a very short time we we went from asking the system to help us work through what was essentially a technical issue regarding finance to watching our son get taken away after we got into an argument over money for going to the movies,” says Anand. “It has left our heads spinning.”

More information about Tom can be found at http://learnfromtom.com/.
Photos of Tom can be found at http://learnfromtom.com/index.php/photos/.
Media should go to http://learnfromtom.com/index.php/media-inquiries/.