By Peter Rudegeair
NEW YORK, Nov 28 (Reuters) – A son of slain U.S. Senator
Robert F. Kennedy was sued for assault on Tuesday by two nurses
at a New York hospital who say they sustained injuries while
trying to stop him from leaving the maternity ward with his
newborn son.
The $200,000 civil suit also accuses Douglas Kennedy, 45, of
negligence, battery and emotional distress and comes a week
after a criminal court judge acquitted him of child endangerment
and harassment charges related to the incident.
Two maternity ward nurses, Cari Luciano and Anna Lane, tried
to physically block Kennedy from taking his boy outside for some
fresh air on Jan. 7 in Westchester County, just north of New
York City. That led to a seven-minute confrontation in which
Kennedy kicked Luciano into the air and twisted Lane’s arm,
according to the civil complaint.
Kennedy, a Fox News correspondent and the 10th child of
Robert and Ethel Kennedy, categorically denies all allegations
the nurses have made and expects to be completely exonerated,
his attorney Michael Bono said.
The attorney representing Luciano and Lane did not
immediately return calls requesting comment.
Kennedy’s actions violated Northern Westchester Hospital’s
policy on transporting infants, Mount Kisco Town Justice John J.
Donohue said in a ruling on the misdemeanor charges released on
Nov. 20, but did not rise to the level of criminality.
Kennedy’s kicking of Luciano was a spontaneous response to
her attempts to physically retake his baby, and Lane’s
allegations of arm-twisting were “not supported by any evidence
except her own testimony,” Donohue wrote in his ruling.
On the charges of child endangerment, there was no evidence
to suggest “that the mere act of taking his child outside the
building would likely be injurious to the child’s physical
welfare,” Donohue wrote.
In a February appearance on NBC’s ‘Today’ show, Luciano and
Lane said Kennedy physically hurt them during the incident and
that they were seeking a public apology from him.
There was “no basis at all for the nurses to lay claim to
one penny from Douglas,” said Robert Gottlieb, the attorney who
represented Kennedy in the criminal suit.
It was an “utter disgrace that the nurses continue to abuse”
the justice system, said Gottlieb, who is not representing
Kennedy in the civil suit.
(Additional reporting by Chris Francescani; editing by Daniel
Trotta and Todd Eastham)
