Mother Sues Hospital, Man Who Beat Baby

The mother of a 22-month-old boy who was beaten to death by her then-boyfriend, a Newport Beach house painter, has filed suit against him and the hospital that treated the child for previous injuries.

Karey Lynn Jaeger’s suit against Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach and four of its doctors contends that they failed to adequately treat her son’s skull fracture when he was taken to the hospital on March 18, 1994.

The suit in Orange County Superior Court also accuses the hospital and doctors of failing to report the injury to proper authorities, and negligently releasing the boy back to Brian Laudenback, who was then Jaeger’s boyfriend.

Hoag Hospital spokeswoman Maureen Mazzatenta declined comment, saying neither she nor hospital authorities had had a chance to review the suit.

Laudenback, 33, was convicted earlier this month of second-degree murder for beating Jaeger’s son, Tyler, to death while baby-sitting him last year.

Prosecutors said that a week after Laudenback began taking care of the boy, Tyler was rushed to the hospital on March 18, 1994, with a fractured skull. Laudenback maintained that the boy fell and hit his head after climbing on a table.

A week later, Tyler was rushed to the hospital a second time. He had suffered two broken ribs, cuts to his face and head and body blows so severe that his pancreas was nearly split in two. Prosecutors charged Laudenback with beating the boy to death. Laudenback denied harming the child.

Jaeger also is suing Laudenback for infliction of emotional distress.

Tyler Jaeger usually attended day care while his mother worked as a special-education teacher, according to trial testimony. When he became ill with a contagious eye disease, Laudenback, who was between jobs, agreed to baby-sit.

The suit asks for an unspecified amount in general damages as well as funeral and burial expenses and lost wages.

Laudenback faces a maximum of 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced April 20.