Blog Post

Doctors Sued over Failure to Report Abuse


March 04, 2008
Topic: Wrongful Death

According to The Indianapolis Star, two Indianapolis physicians are being sued because of the failure to observe and report signs of abuse on an 11-month-old boy.

The two doctors are Dr. Gary Thompson, a physician, and Dr. Michael Turner, a neurosurgeon at the Methodist Hospital, and the young boy they are accused of failing to protect was 11-month-old Chance Chilton.

The basis of the suit is the treatment Chance Chilton received for a skull fracture in 1999. His mother apparently took the boy to their family physician, Dr. Thompson, and claimed that the child had fallen out of the crib. Dr. Thompson, it appears, made notes that he suspected the possibility of abuse, but strangely he failed to report it to Child Protective Services or the police. According to Indiana law, anyone who suspects that a child may be the victim of abuse has to report the matter to Child Protective Services or the police. Dr. Thompson did neither. Instead he sent the boy for treatment to Methodist Hospital.

At the hospital, Chance was referred to Dr. Turner. The neurosurgeon ordered a long-bone scan that is frequently done to rule out the possibility of abuse. Chance's father and grandmother at that time told Dr. Turner that they suspected that the little boy was being abused. The lawsuit filed now contends that Dr. Turner turned a deaf ear to Chance's father, Riley Leon Chilton's concerns. It also alleges that the doctor missed other telltale, signs like bruises on the boy's thigh. In fact, Dr. Turner is reported to have told Riley Chilton that the bruises looked to be consistent with the mother's story of the fall from the crib. Worse still, the doctor did not even review the long-bone scan film. He handed Chance back to his mother and her boyfriend.

Less than a month after Chance was discharged from hospital, he suffered neck and head injuries. This time he wasn't as lucky. The little boy died. Coroners concluded this time, that the injuries had been caused by abuse.

The boyfriend of the little boy's mother pleaded guilty to battery causing death in 2003 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Chance's father, Riley, died battling cancer in October, and the lawsuit has been filed on behalf of his estate.

Regardless of how much the mother herself was to blame for the boy's abuse, the fact is that doctors had a legal duty to make their doubts known. Chance's fate was in jeopardy when his family physician, Dr. Thompson tuned a blind-eye to his abuse, even though his case notes clearly show he strongly suspected there was abuse going on. Then, Chance's fate was sealed after another doctor, this time Dr. Turner, failed to take his injuries as seriously. Why order a long-bone scan unless you had at least a suspicion that there was abuse involved? And once the scan was done, why did Dr. Turner not bother to review the film?

We need to stop paying lip service to the rights of our children and begin practicing giving them these rights. The laws in Indiana that make it obligatory to report abuse are there precisely to protect kids when their parents fail them.

Little Chance seems to have been failed by everyone involved - his mother, and his doctors.

If you have lost a loved-one in a wrongful death accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.