Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

In Suffolk County Superior Court in Massachusetts, an unnamed plaintiff has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit suing pediatrician doctor Melvin D. Levine for sexual assault, battery, and abuse from 1980 to 1985. This is not the first time that Dr. Levine has been accused of sexual abuse by a former patient.

Several men have stepped forward claiming that the doctor sexually abused them at Children’s Hospital Boston when they were boys. At least four of the men are suing him in court. All of the men describe similar incidents of being abused by the doctor during medical examinations.

In this latest lawsuit, John Doe No. 5 says that Levine conducted unnecessary physical exams on him when he was a boy and engaged in acts of sexual assault, including masturbation and genital touching. He is also accusing Dr. Levine of making threats to assault him and trying to engage in other acts of sexual assault. The plaintiff says that he repressed the sex abuse memories for years until he took his own son to the doctor for the exam.

Between 1971 and 1985, Dr. Levine spent 14 years as the chief of ambulatory pediatrics at Children's Hospital Boston He is a bestselling author.

Dr. Levine, who has treated over 15,000 child patients, claims he is completely innocent of any allegation. Children’s Hospital says they never received any complaints about him while he was at the hospital.

Sex Abuse
A person who is sexually abused can file criminal charges against the perpetrator. He or she can also sue the abuser in civil court. The charges and lawsuits must be filed within the statute of limitations of the state where the abuse took place.

Sex abuse can result in personal injury to the victim, which can include physical, emotional, and mental injuries that can lead to alcoholism, depression, promiscuity, drug abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, suicidal tendencies, sexual problems, intimacy issues, and broken relationships.

It may be impossible to fully recover from damages inflicted by sexual abuse, and medical and therapy costs can be very high.

In Boston, Massachusetts, our personal injury law firm would like to offer you a free consultation to discuss your sex abuse case. There may be civil remedies available to you for the harm that you or your child has suffered.

Lawsuit targets former pediatrician at Children's, Boston.com, March 31, 2008

Sex abuse claims filed against former Boston doctor, NECN.com, March 31, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Biography of Dr. Mel Levine, All Kinds of Minds

Children's Hospital Boston

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Posted In: Child Sex Abuse , Medical Malpractice

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The Associated Press says that it has found over 2500 cases of sex abuse involving teachers as perpetrators over a five-year period.

Sexually abusing a child is a crime. In addition to trying a predator in criminal court, however, he or she can be held liable in civil court if the victim or his or her family is willing to file a personal injury lawsuit against the abuser. In certain instances, the school or the school district could also be held liable if they could have prevented the abuse from happening but acted negligently—thereby allowing the abuse to happen.

According to a recent AP investigation, many teacher-student sex abuse cases never get reported and the abusers will often have victimized more than one student. Over the course of its seven month investigation, the AP discovered that from 2001 through 2005, 2570 educators had their teaching credentials denied, revoked, sanctioned, or surrendered because of abuse incidents. At least 1801 of the reported cases involved young people. Over 80% of the victims were students. At least 50% of the educators were convicted for sex crimes connected to these sex abuse cases.

Congress says that about 4.5 million of the approximately 50 million students in American schools will likely be abused by a school employee during their time in school.

In one such incident, involving multiple allegations of abuse, Gary Lindsey finally lost his teaching license in 2004—40 years after he was fired from a teaching post for molesting a little girl. After that first reported incident, he was simply rehired at other schools until Jennah Bramow, now 20, sued the schools in Cedar Rapids Iowa for failing to protect her and other students from being sexually abused.

She first came forward with her complaint in 1995. He was forced to retire following her complaint and complaints by two other girls but kept his license until Bramow sued him for and won her sex abuse lawsuit. She was awarded $20,000.

Other victims who had complained about being molested by Lindsay had accepted settlement deals and signed confidentiality agreements. Many of them say that Lindsey was reprimanded by different principals for his behavior but the records were always filed away.

Teachers, coaches, counselors, psychologists, teaching assistants, superintendents, and principals are not allowed supposed to sexually abuse the students placed under their care. Unfortunately, some of them do. Rape, molestation, distributing pornography, engaging in lewd behavior and making a student watch, sodomy, verbal harassment, inappropriate kissing, touching or hugging, and getting involved in a romantic or sexual relationship with a minor are all forms of sex abuse.

AP: Sexual Misconduct Plagues US Schools, ABC News, October 21, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Teacher Sex ABuse: Hard to Predict, CBS News, February 15, 2007

Child Sexual Abuse, Medline Plus

Continue reading "AP Reports 2,500 Incidents of Teacher Sex Abuse" »

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Posted In: Child Sex Abuse

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