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David Cañas

TJC hero David Cañas

The Tennessee Justice Center relies upon the generosity, expertise, and commitment of other attorneys and advocates in achieving its mission to serve poor Tennesseans. These “TJC heroes” include national policy experts, legal services attorneys and private attorneys, each of whom graciously donates their time, pro bono, to assist our clients. The Tennessee Justice Center would like to extend a big “Thank you!” to TJC hero David Cañas of Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner, P.C.  As a result of David’s relentless advocacy, TJC client Megan will be entering college with a new voice!    

Megan was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a young child, and as a result she was unable to walk and had great difficulty communicating.  She had been surrendered for adoption through AGAPE.  Happily, she was adopted by a loving couple with training in both nursing and respiratory therapy. 

Megan’s family fought to ensure that she was educated in mainstream classrooms throughout grade school.  However, despite Megan’s cognitive ability to function in a mainstream classroom, she suffered continuous humiliation as she repeatedly fell from her inadequate, unsafe wheelchair. Megan’s parents had fought TennCare from July 1994 through October 1996 to obtain a wheelchair that would keep Megan safe and secure. 

Megan smiles from the seat of her wheelchair. Photo by Nicole Eke

When Megan first came to the Tennessee Justice Center as a client at the age of eight, she was an outgoing, bright second-grader.  Megan’s parents contacted the Tennessee Justice Center after learning about our organization.  Their perseverance, coupled with the partnership they formed with TJC, led to TennCare finally approving a new wheelchair for Megan.

Megan’s parents understood that Megan was not the only child on TennCare whose medical needs were unmet.  And they knew that allowing a child’s needs to remain unmet means diminishing that child’s ability to reach her fullest potential.  They knew they could make a difference to help vulnerable children.  So they decided to make sure that their struggle with the system helped not only Megan, but other children as well.  They decided to work to improve the system itself so that all children who depend on TennCare would be better off.  Thus, Megan became one of the original John B class members — a child who represented the hundreds of thousands of children on TennCare with medical needs.   The resolve and dedication of Megan’s family has been steadfast and proved very useful ten years later when TennCare, once again, denied services for Megan.    

In 2005, Megan graduated from high school and prepared to enroll at Middle Tennessee State University.   Entering college meant that Megan would be living on her own and no longer able to rely on her parents to act as interpreters for her.  The ability to communicate with others is a vital part of life — something children must have to develop, learn and grow.  Megan could not attend college, much less succeed, without the ability to communicate.  After evaluating her abilities and needs, Megan’s doctor and speech therapist prescribed a particular speech communication device as medically necessary to enable her to communicate her needs and to meet the new challenges she would face in her new exciting environment.   

TennCare and its MCO denied the request for the speech device that was prescribed, and offered instead to pay for a different speech device.  However, the speech device that TennCare was willing to pay for did not meet Megan’s needs.  It was too complex and required the user to navigate through several screens just to say a simple phrase. Since Megan has limited movement in her hands due to her diagnosis of cerebral palsy, this meant she would have to spend a great deal of time manipulating the device to communicate the simplest ideas.  In the opinion of her doctors and therapists, this other device was unworkable for Megan.

Although it made no sense to provide Megan with a device she could not use, the TennCare MCO defended its decision simply by saying that it had a contract with the manufacturer of the insufficient device. TennCare upheld this denial. TennCare’s justification for denying the speech generating device prescribed by Megan’s treating physician, violated federal laws that protect children who are on Medicaid.  These laws are affirmed and reinforced by the Tennessee Justice Center through the John B case.

Megan is shown here at MTSU, where she is a full-time student. Photo by Nicole Eke

TJC knew it would take intensive effort to assist Megan, and also believed that the effort was crucial to Megan’s success and to enforcing the law.  So TJC recruited the pro bono assistance of Nashville lawyer David Cañas.  David is a partner in Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbart & Manner where he specializes in commercial litigation, dispute resolution, and bankruptcy matters.  He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Tennessee in 1994 and received his B.A. in political science from Vanderbilt University in 1989.  David is committed to equal justice — the idea that every person deserves access to the courts, and he puts that commitment into practice by accepting pro bono cases on behalf of needy families.  TJC knew of David’s commitment to pro bono work and of his reputation as an excellent lawyer.  So we asked him to help Megan achieve her dream of a college education by representing her in a TennCare appeal.

David readily agreed and donated numerous hours of hard work to Megan’s case.  He prepared for and participated in a lengthy administrative hearing, after which the state finally agreed that the speech communication device prescribed by Megan’s doctor was medically necessary in order for Megan to thrive.  TennCare approved the device, and Megan will soon begin working toward her college degree.

David’s hard work has made a concrete difference in the life of one young woman.  But David has done more than touch one Tennessee family--his commitment brings hope to vulnerable children across the state.  Through the service and dedication of TJC heroes like David, the prospects for success for the children of Tennessee become brighter and brighter.

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