 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Estate of Pesante v. Geneva Medical Group3/11/2002
This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the Official Reports.
Social Services--Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment
(*1)
(*2)
MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER
Defendants move for Summary Judgment dismissing this wrongful death and personal injury action. They also seek costs, attorneys fees and sanctions alleging that the Plaintiff is making a frivolous claim.
The plaintiff's decedent, a patient of the defendants from her birth to the time of her death, died on March 18, 1997, after falling down a set of stairs at the home of her foster parents. She was four and a half years old at the time.
The complaint alleges that the defendants' care of the plaintiff's child, Angellica, was not in accordance with accepted standards for pediatricians, and that the defendants' failure to report either child neglect or abuse to the State was negligent and contributed to Angellica's death. The defendants have supplied a doctor's affirmation (*3)which concluded that the care and treatment of Angellica was above standard and that the plaintiff's claims against the defendants are without merit.
The essential and undisputed facts are as follows: Angellica and her two younger brothers were removed from their natural mother's home and placed in a foster home on January 31, 1997. On February 2, 1997, the defendants saw Angellica in their office for a well child visit. At that time, the defendants knew Angellica had been placed in foster care. She was well nourished and healthy at that visit. The next time the defendants saw Angellica was on March 6, 1997. The day before, Stacey Haust, a case worker for the Seneca County Department of Social Services (DSS) was notified by the foster mother that the child had been beaten on the face by her two and a half year old brother, and suffered bruising and a lost tooth. The case worker also learned that day that Angellica had just told her foster mother of sexual abuse by her natural father and a boyfriend of her natural mother. So, on March 6, 1997, case worker Haust, brought Angellica to the defendants' office to be examined for both the facial injuries incurred the day before and for the alleged sexual abuse. The defendants were also told by the DSS worker that the alleged sexual abuse had been reported to the Central Registry in Albany.
The child's face was examined by defendants Mc Caffrey and Mapstone. These defendants also examined Angellica for sexual abuse and determined that the child should be (*4)referred to a special sex abuse unit at Strong Memorial Hospital for further diagnosis.
In their depositions, Mc Caffrey and Mapstone both stated that they did not report the sexual abuse to the Central Registry because the child had already reported sexual abuse to her case worker . At the time the defendants learned of the allegations of sexual abuse, they knew that DSS was already involved, so there was no need to report. Stacey Haust testified at her deposition that the defendants were told when she brought the child to them that a report had been called into Albany concerning the sexual abuse.
As for the injuries Angellica sustained on the day before her visit to defendants, the defendants knew that the caseworker had brought the child in for treatment. Since the local child protection unit was already alerted, the defendants did not believe they needed to report to the State registry, due to the previously reported allegations of sexual abuse. Therefore, the defendants did not see the need to report the facial injury.
Further, the defendants' investigation concerning the cause of
Page 1 2 3 4 5 New York Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|