Sacramento couple fights to get their baby boy back from authorities

[alp227]

A Sacramento family was torn apart after a 5-month-old baby boy was taken from his parents following a visit to the doctor.

The young couple thought their problems were behind them after their son had a scare at the hospital, but once they got home their problems got even worse.

It all began nearly two weeks ago, when Anna Nikolayev and her husband Alex took their 5-month-old boy Sammy to Sutter Memorial Hospital to be treated for flu symptoms, but they didn't like the care Sammy was getting.

...

Anna said Sammy suffers from a heart murmur and had been seeing a doctor at Sutter for regular treatment since he was born. After Sammy was treated for flu symptoms last week, doctors at Sutter admitted him to the pediatric ICU to monitor his condition. After a few days, Anna said doctors began talking about heart surgery.

...

Anna argued with doctors about getting a second opinion. Without a proper discharge, she finally took Sammy out of the hospital to get a second opinion at Kaiser Permanente.

"The police showed up there. They saw that the baby was fine," Anna said. "They told us that Sutter was telling them so much bad stuff that they thought that this baby is dying on our arms."

...

Anna said the next day police and child protective services showed up on her doorstep. Alex Nikolayev said he met them outside a short time after they arrived.

...

On home video shot with a camera Anna set up herself, police can be seen entering her front door on Wednesday.

"I'm going to grab your baby, and don't resist, and don't fight me ok?" a Sacramento police officer said in the video.

...

When News10 spoke with police, they said talk to CPS; CPS did not say much about the case. Just before 6 p.m. Thursday, Anna said that a CPS social worker told her, the reason they took Sammy is because of severe neglect; however, the social worker didn't elaborate on that neglect.

full: http://www.news10.net/news/article/242734/2/Couple-fights-to-get-baby-back-from-CPS-police

[Warpy]

1. If the cops showed up at Kaiser when they were there

getting a second opinion and treatment regimen for their son, Sutter doesn't have a legal or moral leg to stand on. The baby will be returned and the Nicolayevs will get rich quick on the subsequent lawsuit.

The treatment that Sutter wanted to do involved open heart surgery. Parents would be nuts not to get a second opinion for that unless it was an emergency procedure, which it was not.

Sutter just saw some big bucks getting away from them and they didn't like that at all. I hope they get sued into some semblance of humility.

[randome]

2. The allegation of 'severe neglect' hints at something else.

Unless you think child protective services is in a conspiracy with the hospital.

[Warpy]

5. CPS only knew what the hospital told them

Time will tell if there are neglect issues. Right now, it doesn't sound like there are if the kid was taken to Kaiser for a workup.

[burnodo]

7. What in this story suggests severe neglect?

The parents regularly took their child to the hospital. There's no neglect.

[randome]

9. CPS said that neglect was involved in the last paragraph of the OP's snippet.

It's easy to miss but I doubt that CPS would be doing anyone's bidding. They likely have a reason, although of course I could be wrong about that.

[Warpy]

11. The neglect report came from Sutter.

It's appalling that the baby is now being held there against the wishes of his parents.

Taking a kid out of any hospital against medical advice is bad juju. However, taking him directly to another hospital should have lowered any red flags right then and there.

[randome]

12. It sounds like some communication snafus, judging by the update link in the original link.

Exacerbated by the parents taking their son without a discharge. I think the procedures could use some tweeking but I don't see anything deliberately nefarious about this.

[jeff47]

15. CPS massively over-reacts to any report

Because if they don't, they get raked over the coals for not protecting children in the relatively small number of cases where there is a problem.

A neighbor was a target of a CPS investigation, when their kid told his teacher that his father touched his "privates".

So, good thing CPS lept into action, right? Well, the kid was talking about getting dried off after a bath. Which the kid told his teacher. However, the law required the teacher to report it, so that CPS could launch an investigation. CPS eventually concluded that the kid was talking about after a bath...after 2 months of supervision, just in case. So that family's clear now, right? Well, they now has a record with CPS, making it more likely that CPS will intervene in the future.

Anyway, the kid in the OP was receiving frequent medical care for the heart murmur. If there was "severe neglect", don'tcha think the kid's regular doctor might have noticed something? If the first hospital had seen something they thought was "severe neglect", don'tcha think they would have called CPS immediately, instead of waiting until after the parents had taken the kid?

[randome]

20. Sounds like a major kerfuffle all around.

If miscommunication was the only problem, then the parents should get their kid back at Monday's hearing.

[jeff47]

25. "All around"? Um no.

All around would require the parents to be at fault somehow.

They said they wanted a second opinion. The hospital refused to release their child, and then called CPS when the parents asserted their right to take the child.

That's not miscommunication on the parent's part.

As for Monday's hearing, that's not going to resolve shit. This is CPS. They will not "resolve" anything in a single hearing. These parents are going to have to fight this for months.

[LisaL]

16. No, it doesn't.

The supposed severe neglect claim appears to be due to the fact that the parents took the child out of the first hospital. However they took him to the second hospital. So there is no negelct here.

[randome]

21. Maybe not. Hopefully, Monday's hearing will resolve everything.

[Control-Z]

4. This.

Pretty much sums it up as I see it.

[Deep13]

3. I'd like to hear the doctors' side of it...

...but because of HIPPA, they will not be able to comment.

I prosecuted a case once where the hospital had taken custody of a baby over the parnts' objections. If we only listened to the parents, it was a complete overreaction.

Talking to the doctors and examining the medical records, however, revealed that the baby was the victim of an atrocity. Fractured skull, every long bone in the kid's body broken including twisting fractures, many broken ribs, and a dislocated femur fracture that was threatening the baby's leg. Also, no pathological condition to explain it. One of the doctors said that malicious abuse was "extremely obvious."

[LisaL]

17. Doctor from the second hospital said it was fine for the child to go home with parents.

[Beaverhausen]

18. And that doctor had not seen the child before

As far as we know. Why are you so sure he's right and not the doctor who cared for the child since birth?

[LisaL]

19. CPS shouldn't be removing children from people, just because these people got a second

opinion.

[Beaverhausen]

23. The article said the baby was removed for severe neglect

I'm not defending what happened, I just think we need more facts.

[jeff47]

26. Severe neglect that was only apparent when the parents got a second opinion?

The kid's being seen by doctors regularly. How come the "severe neglect" wasn't apparent to them?

The kid was in that hospital for a while. How come the "severe neglect" was only apparent after the parents took the kid?

[NV Whino]

6. I'm puzzled about the second opinion from Kaiser

Kaiser is an HMO and won't treat (or give an opinion) unless you are a member. An emergency might be an exception, but it wasn't an emergency.

I haven't read articles in depth. Have I missed something?

[Tempest]

8. Kaiser will see and treat anyone

I'm not a member of their HMO system and that's where I got my shoulder consultation and surgery.

[NV Whino]

13. Thanks

Didn't know that.

[Revanchist]

10. They also own/operate eight hospitals/medical centers.

They are much more than just a HMO.

[NV Whino]

14. Thanks

I know them only as an HMO.

[newfie11]

22. This is just wrong

Unless there's more not said

[SheilaT]

24. There's another discussion thread on this.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022764867

I have a feeling there's a lot missing from this story. Leaving a hospital AMA, against medical advise, is one thing if it's just you. When it's your child, it's a whole different thing. We still don't know the doctor's side of this, and may never, because of privacy rules.

[jeff47]

27. The doctor's gonna need a hell of a side to have any defense.

1) Kid has been seen regularly by doctors for his entire life. How come the "severe neglect" was not apparent before?

2) The hospital only called CPS claiming "severe neglect" when the parents took the kid. How come the "severe neglect" wasn't apparent before that time? Shouldn't they have called CPS earlier if they saw signs of neglect?

3) The other hospital said the kid was fine to go home. Thus the first doctor is going to have a hell of a time claiming the kid was so critical he had to stay in the hospital.

[SheilaT]

28. I'm just saying there seems to be a lot missing from that article.

I have no personal information or connection, so anything I say, any opinion I have, is meaningless.

[jeff47]

29. Sometimes, there isn't another side to a story.

That doesn't mean we can't use the available information in the story to analyze it.

And the hospital's claim of severe neglect just doesn't add up. If there had been previous involvement of CPS, then it might. Or if they reported the neglect before the parents left AMA it might add up.

And if the hospital screwed up, they aren't going to talk to any reporters - that would just increase their liability. And the hospital isn't talking to any reporters.

Now, they could just be obeying HIPAA, but I have trouble believing absolutely no doctors, nurses, assistants, orderlies, janitors, and so on would leak information about the case if they were in the right.

[bravenak]

30. If there was severe neglect the hospital should have call the police immediately upon observing the

Signs of neglect. Immediately. The fact that they waited until the couple were leaving indicates to me that there were no signs of severe neglect.
Now maybe they were talking medical negligence, but they immediately took the child to another hospital.
Their child will be returned.

[FreakinDJ]

31. CPS in Sacramento and Placer County are a bunch of "Wack Jobs"

Do a little search of the Sacramento Bee and you'll see how many "Bad Calls" they've made over the years