Hospital Denies Baby Mistreated as Parents Raise Charges in Interview

First, they said their 8-month-old son was manhandled by UCI Medical Center X-ray technicians, then he was forced to sleep in an unkempt metal crib that left him bruised. But the last straw, David and Kimberlynn Kennedy claimed, was when they found David Jr. sedated and limp, “like a wet noodle.”

“That’s when I decided to take him out of there,” said David Francis X. Kennedy, 31, who took the boy from the hospital in Orange last July 21 and, with his wife, fled to Colorado.

Kennedy now faces a Dec. 8 trial on a felony child endangerment charge. He is accused of placing his son in a “life-threatening” situation by removing him after doctors suspected the infant had a subdural hematoma, or bleeding between the skull and the brain. Kennedy has pleaded not guilty.

Awarded Custody

The couple made the comments in a recent interview, after a judge awarded them custody of their son, David Jr., now 11 months old.

Leon Schwartz, UCI Medical Center director, rejected the parents’ claims. “We feel that we have the highest quality of care in the county. Our nursing standards are among the highest,” Schwartz said. “The comments about the metal crib are preposterous.”

The Kennedy case drew attention five months ago after UCI Medical Center admitting doctors found what they considered suspicious fractures and bruises on the child when his parents brought him to the hospital for treatment. Under standard practice, doctors notified a social worker, who in turn summoned police. Police ordered that the boy remain at the hospital 72 hours and be kept in protective custody while an investigation was conducted.

Child abuse charges were never filed against the couple because Huntington Beach police could not determine how the fractures occurred, police said.

Two weeks ago, Superior Court Judge William F. McDonald, who heard testimony from UCI Medical Center doctors and medical experts called by the family, granted the couple custody.

Not Life-Threatening

The juvenile custody hearing was closed to the public. But, according to the Kennedys, the judge found that no life-threatening situation had existed--a ruling which contrasted sharply with testimony by UCI Medical Center doctors.

The parents also claimed that the 72-hour period for protective custody, which police had placed on their baby, had expired before the father took the baby from the hospital.

The police contend that the child was taken during the 72-hour period.

Because the case involves testimony in a closed juvenile custody hearing, the judge and attorneys for both sides are prohibited from commenting on the proceedings. Only the parents are allowed to comment.

According to the Kennedys, UCI Medical Center’s diagnosis for the subdural hematoma was disputed by test results made at a University of Colorado hospital, which found no subdural hematoma existed.

A spokesman for the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver said the test results could not be released without the parents’ written permission.

Stands Behind Doctors

Medical center director Schwartz said he stood behind his doctors’ diagnosis and the hospital’s level of care.

He added that doctors are required to notify the county Social Services Agency whenever they suspect child abuse.

“Once that is done, it’s up to the agency to follow through and make appropriate decisions.”

Dr. Robin A. Williamson, a pediatrics radiologist at Childrens Hospital of Orange County who viewed X-rays of the Kennedy child’s fractures, said in a telephone interview that they “. . . are not the classic fractures that you see with so-called child abuse.”

Williamson said some of the fractures could have been caused by subtle pressure possibly applied during the baby’s premature birth. The radiologist said premature babies are prone to such fractures because of nutritional deficiencies.

As for bruises on the child, Kimberlynn Kennedy said the back bruise occurred when the baby rolled over on a music box before they brought him to the hospital. A blackened eye may have occurred when the baby dropped a bottle, although both parents are uncertain whether it happened in their care or the baby sitter’s.

Restrained During X-Rays

Of the parents’ claim that UCI Medical Center used excessive force when they took X-rays, Williamson said that “sometimes you need four hands and other times you need eight hands” to restrain a child during X-rays.

“If you hold a child, they just squirm,” Williamson said. “We use ace bandages to tape children (to the X-ray table) and sand bags, that’s called passive restraint.”

County social worker Linda Oyoung, who was identified by the Kennedys as the person who summoned police from the hospital, only said, “It’s a confidential matter, and I cannot reveal any information to you.”

Sylvia Wall, Orange County children’s services deputy director, said Oyoung is prohibited by law from publicly disclosing any information regarding the child.