REPUTATIONAL DAMAGE

Pediatrician Sues Hospital After Divisive Child Abuse Case

Doctor John M. Cox, 41, and his wife filed the lawsuit against Children’s Wisconsin.

A pediatrician has sued his former employer, Children’s Wisconsin, and several ex-colleagues claiming he was falsely accused of abusing his own child. John M. Cox, 41, accused the hospital and some of its staff of conspiracy, negligence, defamation and retaliation, among other claims. In a high-profile case that the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal said caused a bitter split between hospital staff, Cox and his wife were taking care of a month-old baby they were planning to adopt when Cox woke to find her crying and feared he may have rolled onto her. He took her to a doctor who found she had a broken collarbone and bruising. The baby was removed from the couple’s custody, and the adoption was canceled. Cox was charged with child neglect—but a dozen experts questioned the conclusions drawn by his hospital colleagues, who provided reports to bolster the abuse claims despite never seeing the child. The criminal case was dismissed Friday after Cox pleaded no contest in an effort to have the matter dismissed.