Kennedy Sues Nurses: Douglas Kennedy Claims Defamation After Hospital Scuffle (VIDEO)
Douglas Kennedy is suing two nurses who accused him live on TV of hruting them following a maternity ward scuffle.
The son of late Robert F. Kennedy was acquitted of all criminal charges resulting from that scuffle, and he has now decided to take legal action against two hospital nurses who spoke out publicly against him in the aftermath of the incident.
Kennedy alleges that the comments made by the nurses amount to defamation, and that the legal action against him amounted to malicious prosecution.
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Nurses Cari Luciano and Anna Lane made comments to police officers as well as on NBC's "Today" show in the aftermath of the incident in the hospital. Kennedy now says that their comments led him to be ridiculed and scorned, and that their claims led to him being prosecuted.
The lawsuit was filed last Friday in White Plains, a suburb north of New York City.
The scuffle occurred a year ago when Kennedy attempted to take his two-day-old son, Anthony Boru Kennedy, out from the maternity unit of Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco to get some fresh air.
Nurses allegedly attempted to stop him and blocked his way. A scuffle allegedly ensued and the nurses made comments that he hurt them in the incident.
Luciano had claimed that Kennedy even kicked her, and Lane insisted that he twisted her arm, according to The Associated Press. The two nurses testified at Kennedy's resulting trial, but he was eventually acquitted in November and was found not guilty of child endangerment and physical harassment.
The judge in that case ruled that Kennedy demonstrated no intent to harm the child, and that the baby was not in danger, other than the nurses' actions.
Kennedy's lawyer, Gary Douglas, has said Tuesday, "The spirit and intent of this suit is, in part, to discourage further invasions of privacy and defamatory personal attacks," according to AP.
Here is a previous report of the hospital incident as the court case progressed:
