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Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Blog | Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP
Philadelphia Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Attorneys serving the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania areas. Pomerantz, Perlberger and Lewis have extensive experience with serious injuries as a result of someone else's negligence.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Hospital Could Be Held Responsible for Not Reporting Child Abuse
The Minnesota Supreme Court has decided to give a Minnesota family another trial in their medical malpractice suit against the Mayo Foundation. Michael and Nancy Becker adopted Nykkole Rossini after she suffered a permanent brain injury at the hands of her biological father who was later sent to prison for his crime.
The lawsuit, filed in 2001, notes that Nykkole was born in July 1997. When she was just three and a half weeks old, she was brought to Saint Mary's Hospital with a fracture. She had had other emergency room visits besides that one, and in September 1997, she was brought to the hospital with skull fractures and a subdural hematoma. Doctors diagnosed Nykkole with shaken baby syndrome, and she suffered permanent brain damage. At that time, she was hospitalized, and the state of Minnesota took custody of her. She was eventually placed in the care of the Beckers as foster parents; they adopted her.
Because of her injuries, Nykkole will never function beyond the level of an infant and will need 24-hour care for the rest of her life. In January 2004, a jury found that Mayo had been negligent in their care of the little girl but said that negligence did not directly cause the injuries she later suffered at the ands of her biological father. The couple claimed that they did not get a fair trial because the trial court erroneously excluded evidence of Mayo's alleged failure to report the suspected abuse to outside authorities.
The lawsuit further alleged that the doctors at Mayo had deviated from the expected standard of professional skill and care by not reporting suspected child abuse to outside authorities. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled on August 16, 2007 that the district court erred when it excluded all evidence related to a hospital's responsibility to report suspected child abuse, and the court said that exclusion might reasonably have changed the result of the trial.
One of the Becker's attorneys, Chris Messerly said that a new trial is an opportunity to have a responsible party pay for the girl's care and spare taxpayers from having to cover those costs.
If you or a loved has suffered due to personal injury resulting from medical malpractice in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the Medical Malpractice Law Offices of Pomerantz, Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.
The lawsuit, filed in 2001, notes that Nykkole was born in July 1997. When she was just three and a half weeks old, she was brought to Saint Mary's Hospital with a fracture. She had had other emergency room visits besides that one, and in September 1997, she was brought to the hospital with skull fractures and a subdural hematoma. Doctors diagnosed Nykkole with shaken baby syndrome, and she suffered permanent brain damage. At that time, she was hospitalized, and the state of Minnesota took custody of her. She was eventually placed in the care of the Beckers as foster parents; they adopted her.
Because of her injuries, Nykkole will never function beyond the level of an infant and will need 24-hour care for the rest of her life. In January 2004, a jury found that Mayo had been negligent in their care of the little girl but said that negligence did not directly cause the injuries she later suffered at the ands of her biological father. The couple claimed that they did not get a fair trial because the trial court erroneously excluded evidence of Mayo's alleged failure to report the suspected abuse to outside authorities.
The lawsuit further alleged that the doctors at Mayo had deviated from the expected standard of professional skill and care by not reporting suspected child abuse to outside authorities. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled on August 16, 2007 that the district court erred when it excluded all evidence related to a hospital's responsibility to report suspected child abuse, and the court said that exclusion might reasonably have changed the result of the trial.
One of the Becker's attorneys, Chris Messerly said that a new trial is an opportunity to have a responsible party pay for the girl's care and spare taxpayers from having to cover those costs.
If you or a loved has suffered due to personal injury resulting from medical malpractice in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the Medical Malpractice Law Offices of Pomerantz, Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.
posted by Lynn at 9:38:00 AM
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