JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 34-year-old Jacksonville man is at the center of a legal tug of war between his wife and mother. Scott Thomas suffered severe brain damage in September 2004 and has been in and out of the hospital ever since. For months, there has been a question of who should be in charge of his care. On Friday, that question was partially answered.

Thomas requires a feeding tube to survive and needs constant medical supervision. His mother, Pamela Patton, is her son's legal guardian. But court papers obtained by Channel 4 reveal that Patton may end up sharing that guardianship with Thomas' wife, Liza.

Patton is afraid that if her son's condition ever worsened and he no longer remained responsive, the feeding tube might become an issue. Thomas does not have a living will.

"We hadn't really thought about it," Patton said. "At this point, we want him to recover more so he can start making more of his own decisions."

Liza Thomas' attorney told Channel 4's Victoria Warren that, at one point, his client did look into hospice care for her spouse, but never wanted the feeding tube removed. He said both sides agreed that Patton would always play a role in decisions about Thomas. The only thing that is preventing co-guardianship, however, is figuring out how Thomas was injured.

"The homicide team is doing an investigation into this," Randall Terry with the Society for Truth and Justice said Friday at a news conference.

His organization has teamed up with Patton, who requested that the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office investigate whether or not Thomas' wife played a role in his injury, according to the state attorney's office.

JSO officials confirmed that they are looking into those claims, but have not drawn any conclusions at this time. According to Liza Thomas' attorney, Scott Thomas was hurt in an accidental fall. When the incident occurred, there were no questions of criminal behavior.

Patton said she hopes there comes a day when both families can put this incident behind them and allow Thomas to return to being a father to his infant son.

"We're looking forward to (seeing) him with his son," Patton said.