Medical mistakes can change people’s lives for the worst and may even result in death. Through medical malpractice laws, victims can seek justice if they have been wronged by their doctors. Although in some states like Wisconsin it is hard to win a medical malpractice case, there is still hope for those who have enough evidence and are determined to prove their hardship.
But Wisconsin saw more than doctors sued for neglect or mistakes. Not long ago, a pediatrician sued a few of his former Milwaukee hospital colleagues and the Children’s Wisconsin Hospital. The pediatrician claims he has been wrongly accused of child abuse and is seeking justice.
What Started The Case?
John M. Cox is a pediatrician who wanted to adopt an infant girl with his wife Sarah Dobrozsi back in 2019. They had two older sons already, who were adopted as well, and were in the process of adopting the little girl.
The infant girl was only around a month old in May 2019, and she fell asleep next to John M. Cox in his bed. At some point, she started crying, which woke him up. He thought he had rolled onto the little one, and was worried about her well-being and thought he might have broken her collar bone. Therefore, he immediately took her to the pediatrician of the family.
The girl was examined by the doctor, and X-rays revealed that a broken collar bone was not the case. However, on the insides of the little one’s arms and her back, a different doctor noticed some small marks. As such, he went to the child advocacy team of the hospital and told them about these discoveries, after which the baby was examined by a child abuse pediatrician.
Then, more tests revealed a broken collar bone in the infant girl.
Milwaukee health care attorneys mentioned that Cox and Dobrozsi were able to take the baby home. That was possible because, during the legal adoption process, they were the pre-adoptive foster parents after an agreement with the adoption agency and the mother of the child. But that night, the couple was visited by the Child Protective Services investigators who wanted to see the baby again.
In January 2020, Cox was charged. The adoption was also canceled, and the infant girl was taken from the custody of the couple.
Seeking Justice
John M. Cox’s and Sarah Dobrozsi’s life was greatly affected by this whole ordeal. The 41-year-old now accuses the defendants in the case of defamation, conspiracy, and many other things, and claims he was wrongly accused and targeted. Therefore, he has sued not only some of his former colleagues from the Milwaukee Hospital but also Children’s Wisconsin.
Cox and his wife filed their lawsuit recently, only three days after completing the deferred prosecution agreement from the abuse case from 2020. This agreement was completed successfully.
In November, after several months of trying to dismiss the intentional child abuse charge, the pediatrician pleaded no contest to neglecting a child younger than 6. This was all part of a deferred prosecution agreement.
The case was then dismissed after the conditions of the agreement were completed by Cox. He had to do community service and also take parenting classes as part of the agreement.
Cox and Dobrozsi were formerly of Wauwatosa but now reside in a Chicago suburb. They are helped by a company that participated in various high-profile civil rights cases, respectively Loevy & Loevy. At the same time, they are represented by Hale & Monico.
The defendants, in this case, are the Children’s Hospital, Medical College of Wisconsin, but also a nurse practitioner, a few doctors, the Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services, and a few social workers and supervisors from the agency.
The Children’s Wisconsin staff divided a lot over this case, with some people being against Cox and thinking he abused the infant girl, while others supported him during his case. They even gave opinions of how the injuries seen on the baby were not child abuse marks.
After the 2020 case was widely-publicized, people are now curious to see what happens after Cox is suing various people and institutions.
The Bottom Line
Opinions are still split in the case of Cox and Dobrozsi, with some thinking the 41-year-old is innocent while others still see him as a child abuser. Now, everyone is keeping an eye on this case to see the outcome and we cannot wait to see the result.