Mother, teen sue Bradley Hospital over broken leg What they allege
PROVIDENCE – The mother of a son on the autism spectrum is accusing Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital of negligence after a senior residential care counselor at the Bradley Center was charged with first-degree child abuse after allegedly breaking the teenager's leg.
Jaileen Carlton and her teenage son, Sam Waldner, have sued the hospital, doing business as the Bradley Center, and Adedamola Adewuyi, a senior counselor at the center, in Superior Court. They allege that the teen’s leg was fractured when Adewuyi kicked his leg out from under him and that the staff did not take him for medical treatment for nearly 24 hours after the incident.
Adewuyi, 34, of Providence, was charged July 21 with first-degree child abuse as a caretaker of a child. He is alleged to have inflicted a spiral fracture of the tibia, leaving Waldner permanently disabled. Adewuyi was arraigned Aug. 22 in District Court and did not enter a plea, as is customary in felony cases.
His lawyer, Kevin J. Bristow, did not respond to an inquiry this week. Alan R. Tate, his lawyer in the Bradley case, also did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The hospital denied the allegations in a response filed last week with the court. It is being represented by Mark P. Dolan.
"Lifespan is not commenting at this time due to the pending lawsuit," Kathleen Hart, spokeswoman, said in an email. Lifespan did not respond to a question about Adewuyi's status at the center.
Son diagnosed with spiral fracture
Tthe complaint says that Adewuyi kicked Waldner on July 11 and that staff at the center ridiculed the teen and forced him to walk on his fractured leg in the aftermath.
Mother and son allege that Adewuyi knowingly disregarded the Waldner’s need for medical treatment, amounting to criminal conduct. The center did not bring him in for treatment of the fracture until the next day, the suit says.
He was eventually brought to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, where he diagnosed with a spiral fracture of the tibia and has required extensive medical care.
Alleged previous DCYF probe
They allege, too, that Adewuyi was the subject of an investigation by the state Department of Children, Youth & Families for a previous altercation with a Bradley Center resident.
"DCYF is prohibited from sharing additional information related to this litigation or whether it has or hasn’t investigated any individual," DCYF spokeswoman Damaris Teixeira said in an email.
She noted that agencies are required to comply with DCYF regulations when staffing their facilities.
The suit alleges that the center retained Adewuyi and allowed him to continue to interact with Bradley residents despite his being in a physical altercation days before abusing Waldner.
The Bradley Center is a 16-bed residence at 70 East St. in Cranston that provides short-term intensive treatment for adolescents age 12 to 17 who suffer from serious emotional and behavioral disturbances, substance-use and associated problems. In addition, it serves adolescents with co-occurring disorders who are in need of short-term stabilization, assessment and treatment for suicidal, aggressive or other unsafe behaviors.
The complaint alleges Adewuyi was negligent in violently abusing Waldner and then neglecting to promptly get him medical care, and that his criminal actions were willful and malicious.
The Bradley Center faces allegations of corporate negligence for failing to take reasonable care of the teenager and failing to protect him from Adewuyi’s criminal conduct and for hiring unsafe employees. The suit alleges that it failed to properly supervise and train its staff, including clinicians, psychiatrist, nurses and residential care counselors.
Mother and son are seeking unspecified damages against Adewuyi and Bradley for intentional infliction of emotional distress, loss of companionship and for reckless actions that led to his permanent injuries.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Mother, teen sue Bradley Hospital over broken leg. What they allege
