The son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is suing two maternity ward nurses stemming from a scuffle he had with them last year, claiming he and his wife suffered emotional distress after the nurses tried to stop him from taking his son outside the hospital.
Kennedy filed the suit against nurses Anna Margaret Lane and Cari Luciano, who last year filed their own suit against Kennedy seeking damages for physical and emotional distress.
The trio got into a dispute when the nurses tried to stop Kennedy from leaving the maternity ward with his newborn baby on Jan. 7, 2012. Much of the incident was captured on hospital surveillance cameras.
Kennedy and his wife, Molly, said in addition to wrongly trying to grab the baby out of his arms, the nurses released confidential information about Molly Kennedy and her baby. They are also suing the nurses for libel, based on statements they made in news interviews alleging Kennedy kicked one of the nurses and twisted the wrist of the other.
The lawsuit alleges Molly Kennedy continues to suffer “psychological injuries with ... fear, depression, anxiety” as a result of the hospital dispute and media firestorm during what was supposed to be a joyous time after the birth of her son.
Elliot Taub, a lawyer for the nurses, dismissed the allegations outlined in the suit.
"It is sheer nonsense and it is an effort at retaliation," he said in a statement. "It has no merit and we'll let a jury decide."
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Kennedy was acquitted last of all criminal counts against him after the scuffle at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco last January.
