MILWAUKEE — A former emergency room doctor and his wife are filing a lawsuit against Children's Wisconsin after the hospital indicated a one-month-old in their custody was a victim of child abuse.
Dr. John Cox is accused of intentionally abusing his then 1-month-old daughter in May of 2019, according to a civil complaint. He says he rolled over on her after they fell asleep together, resulting in a broken collarbone and other bruising from his panic in picking her up.
He took her to the hospital, where Children's Wisconsin categorized the one-month-old as a victim of abuse.
However, he says the Child Abuse Team with Children's Wisconsin misdiagnosed her injuries and claims the team is "out of control." Now, he and his wife are filing a lawsuit against the hospital.
Previous coverage:
- Milwaukee-area ER doctor to go to trial for alleged abuse of daughter
- Motion to dismiss denied in Milwaukee area doctor's abuse case
Following the charges back in 2020, Cox's lawyer, Michael Levine, questioned the validity of Cox's criminal complaint, in an effort to have the charges dismissed. The judge denied that motion, and now Cox is attempting a lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit filed, the one-month-old who Cox and his wife were trying to adopt, was evaluated by three physicians and a nurse practitioner at Children's Wisconsin.
Two of the three physicians came to the conclusion that the one-month-old got her injuries from an accident that occurred with Cox. The third physician cited a conflict of interest and did not offer a conclusion.
The nurse practitioner concluded that the one-month-old was a victim of abuse, which eventually led to charges against Cox. However, the lawsuit claims the practitioner "failed to follow standard medical procedures for the evaluation of possible child abuse," which led to a miscategorization.
Because of the child abuse accusations, Cox and his wife were unable to finalize their adoption of the one-month-old.
Correction: The child was one month old, not one year old.
