PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I have been following the Pelletier case for years because it has so much in common with the Charles Smith cases in which the medical authorities diagnose child abuse without thoroughly investigating the possibility that the child may have been the victim of a medical condition - all too often leading to innocent people facing serious criminal charges and seizure of their remaining children by child care authorities. As Boston Globe reporter Kay Lazar reports: "In the lawsuit, Justina, now 21, and her parents accuse Children’s and its providers of ignoring in 2013 the treatment advice of her doctors at Tufts Medical Center, where Justina was being treated for mitochondrial disease, a group of rare genetic disorders that affects how cells produce energy. The family also accuses the hospital and its providers of violating their civil rights by barring the Pelletiers from seeing their daughter, and by warning the state would take custody of Justina if they didn’t consent to the doctors’ treatment plan." I will be dipping into the court proceedings from time to time.
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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GIST: A
state appeals court judge Monday declined to dismiss civil rights
counts against Boston Children’s Hospital in the medical malpractice
case brought by Justina Pelletier and her parents, clearing the way for
jury selection to begin Tuesday in Suffolk County Superior Court.
Justina, now 21, and her parents accuse Children’s and
its providers of ignoring in 2013 the treatment advice of her doctors
at Tufts Medical Center, where Justina was being treated for
mitochondrial disease, a group of rare genetic disorders that affects
how cells produce energy.
The
family also accuses the hospital and its providers of violating their
civil rights by barring the Pelletiers from seeing their daughter, and
by warning the state would take custody of Justina if they didn’t consent
to the doctors’ treatment plan."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2020/01/13/justina-pelletier-trial-set-begin-tuesday-after-boston-children-hospital-loses-bid-delay/WPzMLnZurvu2V88SKU0jmK/story.html&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoUMTUxMzg0NDMyMzM4ODU2NzU0MzIyGWFiMDYxODNkOTY5OWNiOTg6Y2E6ZW46Q0E&usg=AFQjCNGnOJ0EWgJqbUdRM1aJkiqnzxQzWQ
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
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