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Mother sues (Nashville TN) schools over unauthorized gynecological exam (6 Year old child)
Trashville City Paper ^ | 01/22/2010 | Trashville City Paper

Posted on 01/23/2010 1:46:11 AM PST by The Magical Mischief Tour

An Antioch woman is suing the Metro Board of Education and a former nurse at Mt. View Elementary, claiming the nurse performed a gynecological exam on her daughter without her consent.

Seeking unspecified damages, the woman claims the exam inflicted emotional distress on her daughter, resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to documents filed in Davidson County Circuit Court on Wednesday, the 6-year-old girl had a history of bladder and urinary tract infections. On Oct. 28, the girl complained to her teacher of genital pain, the filing says. Her mother confirmed to the teacher that the girl had a doctor appointment in a couple of days. The following day the girl was taken out of art class and brought before the school nurse, who no longer works at Mt. View Elementary. The nurse asked the girl, the filing says, "if anyone had touched her privates. The girl said, "No."

"(The nurse) then took (the girl) to the bathroom and had her pull down her pants and panties and squat. She then told (the girl) to open her private. (The nurse) then told her, "it's not red, you can pull your pants up."

Prior to filing the suit, the woman's attorney, Phillip L. Davidson, said the school board had been unresponsive. "The school board has not cooperated with us at all in trying to investigate this matter."

A spokeswoman for the school board declined to comment.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; US: Tennessee
KEYWORDS: arth; homeschoolingisgood; publicschool; publicschools
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To: Malacoda

Yes, I know. All of these holier than thou do gooders on this site and elsewhere would all be whistling a different tune if they were on the wrong end of a false accusation.


41 posted on 01/23/2010 12:28:10 PM PST by Scotsman will be Free (11C - Indirect fire, infantry - High angle hell - We will bring you, FIRE)
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To: FreeLuna

Good for you. What happens if you are wrong? Ever been on that end of it before? Hmm? Any idea what happens after you point your finger?
Do you have half a clue about the incompetency, ignorance, arrogance and down right criminal behavior of the so called child protective service employees? That if they don’t like you you are in for a very rough ride? That they get sued and lose all of the time(tax payer money), and NOTHING happens to them? That the majority of them are liberals with a liberals point of view about child rearing and the role of govt in that endeavor?
I worked around those asshats for 30 years, and had personal dealings with them. I hold them in complete and utter contempt. I hope that you and every other ignorant american gets the pleasure of having them in your personal life because of an over zealous fingerpointer.
“Well, the definition of abuse is defined by courts.”
Really? I thought the legislature defined criminal conduct. Pretty smug in your ignorance, aren’t you.


42 posted on 01/23/2010 12:40:23 PM PST by Scotsman will be Free (11C - Indirect fire, infantry - High angle hell - We will bring you, FIRE)
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To: Las Vegas Dave

No one even asked the parents??? Unbelievable.


43 posted on 01/23/2010 12:47:53 PM PST by montag813
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To: Scotsman will be Free

Well, I wasn’t being smug.And, as far as ignorance, look into court cases involving discovered abuse unreported by the first mandatory reporter and tell me the courts do not define abuse.
I’m sorry you are so upset and it seems to be a personal issue with you. I am well aware of cases where overzealous people in all lines of work have mucked up peoples lives. I am also aware that, as men, we are born(to borrow a phrase from “Garp’s” mother) “Sexual Suspects”. None of that changes the fact that I am mandated by federal law to report suspected abuse or I can face charges. Morally, I would do it anyway. You wouldn’t?

I am NOT overzealous,as I stated previously,I have had to report someone once and it was for Elder abuse, not child abuse. And even though you have wished me ill I hope, if you are ever in a position of immobility, having lost everything in your life to time, someone watches out for you. I never meant to offend you, but, I’m not wrong.


44 posted on 01/23/2010 1:03:22 PM PST by FreeLuna
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To: FreeLuna; Scotsman will be Free
I will agree with FreeLuna and say he IS mandated to report suspected abuse. However, a child complaning of a hurt peepee (possibly a UTI) is not grounds for a SCHOOL NURSE to preform a gynecological exam.

The child was asked if shd had ever been touched... the child responded "no." There is no evidence or reason to believe the child was abused. If the nurse still had evidence to believe otherwise then the nurse should have called CPS or the police. Under the current circumstances, the nurse should have called the parents and recommended she be taken to a DOCTOR and given an exam.

Drumming up unsubstantiated charges of child abuse, or worse violating a 6 year old girl is uncalled for.... If it was my child this happened to, a lawsuit would be the least of the nurse's trouble.

But, homeschooling negates this problem before it starts.

And FL, the LEGISLATURE writes the laws.... the courts decide the case within the meetsand bounds of those laws. But, it is still the LEGISLATURE that wrote law (defines if you will).

I think that the Scotsman thought you were defending a school nurse examining a 6 year old without parental consent, or if the nurse felt it was warranted without contacting the authorities... I hope this isn't your position.

45 posted on 01/23/2010 2:52:59 PM PST by Repeat Offender (While the wicked stand confounded, call me with Thy Saints surrounded)
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To: Clara Lou
Just remember, it does happen.

Indeed it does but those involved have to use some common sense. The mother had said the child had an appointment with the doctor. Simple solution was ask for name and notify doctor. Second option if more drastic measures were needed because the child said someone harmed her or behavior had drastically changed would have been reporting it and letting the child be checked by a doctor.

Whether most people realize it or not doctors do check kids for signs of abuse and there are a lot more telling signs than pulling down their pants. A kids who's behavior & personality hasn't abruptly changed but has problems in the area this child did? Doctor will look for a UTI. Nurse in this case was wrong.

46 posted on 01/23/2010 2:55:30 PM PST by cva66snipe (Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?)
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To: FreeLuna
Well, the definition of abuse is defined by courts. If, in my work duties (or even off duty actually)I notice strange unexplainable bruising, bleeding, cuts, burns or even behaviors that may indicate abuse of a client, I call the police. It has happened to me once, and, I was right. What if I had ignored my suspicions and said nothing?

I've been my wife's caregiver 25 years. Good doctors check and ask questions. About 7 years ago we had to change primary care doctors. The doctor had never met us before and my wife had some old healed over pressure sores. He asked plenty of questions and I knew where he was coming from on it asking how each one happened and I knew how each one happened. Pressure sores come from vitamin issues a lot of times. {Biotin works wonders}.

We have an established trust with the doctor now and it's a lot more relaxed. It raised his suspicion too that I was in the exam room with her. I have been since day one because I do the lifting if needed and I am the one who has to do things like appointment scheduling, getting meds etc. That and I have her medical history in my head LOL.

I've also been on the other part as a Foster Parent in this state and I know the problems of the DCS in Tennessee. I have been involved in an abuse case. I know how a kid acts that has been abused sexually and I know how a kids acts that has been abused emotionally. Unless the kids behavior was strange as in acting out etc the nurse should have let the doctor handle it. Had their been an abuse case she likely blew it doing what she did anyway.

Someone experienced in abuse in children can get a lot more detail not in what they see by examining the area the nurse did first but what they see & hear in the child. Many perps molesting small kids just touch and you're not going to tell anything much anyhow. In older children such an exam doesn't tell them much either. They go more on behavioral. The first to pick up on it at school would have likely been the teacher.

47 posted on 01/23/2010 3:26:30 PM PST by cva66snipe (Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?)
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To: Las Vegas Dave

What if...during the vaginal ‘exam’, it was discovered that she had been sexually abused or sodomized?

Just asking.

6 years old is not yet the “age of reason”.

She may have responded ‘no’ to the question if somebody touched her ‘down there’, out of fear.


48 posted on 01/23/2010 3:31:12 PM PST by DCPatriot ("It aint what you don't know that kills you. It's what you know that aint so" Theodore Sturgeon))
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To: metmom

I offered no defense of the nurse’s actions. I did attempt to point out that there is another side of the coin. It can be a real catch-22 for some of us. Do I keep my mouth shut, or do I say something? (My job requires me to report suspected abuse. I’ve never reported any because nothing I’ve ever seen could only have been present due to physical abuse. But, technically, I could lose my my job if I don’t report anything I observe.)


49 posted on 01/23/2010 3:43:34 PM PST by Clara Lou
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To: DCPatriot
6 years old is not yet the “age of reason”. She may have responded ‘no’ to the question if somebody touched her ‘down there’, out of fear.

You watch the kids behavior. Most kids being abused in any form including getting beaten are going to act out in their behavior. A person who knows what they are doing will get tons more useful information out of a kid talking to them first for a considerable time likely several times than jerking down their pants for a look in their privates.

Unless the perp is actually engaging in a full act you likely won't be able to determine anything in that manner. If a kid is showing bleeding in that area at school yea you have a problem Houston. Most sexual abuse in very young kids can not be detected by a physical exam. Most just touch the kids or have the kids touch them

These creeps are so careful they have the young kids look elsewhere so anatomy of the perp can not be described to authorities.

50 posted on 01/23/2010 3:53:12 PM PST by cva66snipe (Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?)
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To: Clara Lou

There are other courses of action she could have taken, like contacting the girl’s doctor.

It may be her place to report suspected abuse, by law, but it was not her place to do the exam.

There should have been records on file with the school that document this that she could have looked up.


51 posted on 01/23/2010 3:55:55 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: Repeat Offender

“And FL, the LEGISLATURE writes the laws.... the courts decide the case within the meetsand bounds of those laws. But, it is still the LEGISLATURE that wrote law (defines if you will).
I think that the Scotsman thought you were defending a school nurse examining a 6 year old without parental consent, or if the nurse felt it was warranted without contacting the authorities... I hope this isn’t your position.”

I didn’t mean to be flippant about the courts defining abuse. It was a criticism of bureaucracy and a stating of fact of how confusing it can all be.
I had thought my original post was clear. This nurse stepped WAY beyond her scope of practice. But, the Legislature is NOT clear on what the terms define when they define abuse.It is a judgement call and my only concern is the safety of my clients. It is not up to a nurse to derive from collected data WHO might be abusing him/her or even if actual abuse has taken place.
I guess I just wanted to explain that this nurse may have had honorable and noble intentions and wanted to confirm something BEFORE reporting it. She was 100% WRONG to do it.


52 posted on 01/23/2010 3:58:56 PM PST by FreeLuna
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To: cva66snipe
A person who knows what they are doing will get tons more useful information out of a kid talking to them first for a considerable time likely several times than jerking down their pants for a look in their privates.

It's not hard to get kids to talk. Given the opportunity, kids will spill their guts to an adult they like and trust.

We lived in a rough neighborhood for some time and I always felt sorry for the neighbor kids and would try to be extra kind to them and give them snacks, like cookies and stuff when they were hungry. I never pried for information either, but they'd just start talking and telling me all kinds of things that I'd rather have not known. Nothing that would qualify as actual abuse to them by someone, but just family politics that leave you just shaking your head.

But they will tell all if you are willing to listen.

53 posted on 01/23/2010 4:03:17 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: metmom

Sure, there are other courses of action she could have taken. No argument there. As I said, in my district (and my state, Texas) we don’t operate the way they do in Tennessee.


54 posted on 01/23/2010 4:08:41 PM PST by Clara Lou
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To: cva66snipe

Not disputing anything you wrote, but the bottom line is that I don’t fault the nurse for doing the examination.

If she would have discovered and reported abuse, a lot of people here would be giving her kudos....especially on threads dealing with the perp.


55 posted on 01/23/2010 4:30:38 PM PST by DCPatriot ("It aint what you don't know that kills you. It's what you know that aint so" Theodore Sturgeon))
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To: metmom

Exactally. It works and the kids often don’t even realize what they have told you. You get more truth about what has happened that way than any other especially in a court room.


56 posted on 01/23/2010 4:57:10 PM PST by cva66snipe (Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?)
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To: DCPatriot
Not disputing anything you wrote, but the bottom line is that I don’t fault the nurse for doing the examination. If she would have discovered and reported abuse, a lot of people here would be giving her kudos....especially on threads dealing with the perp.

That type of exam based solely on a kid having urination issue. I would fault her. I have a grandkid with bladder issues and the kid has good parents. There were better established ways to handle it. It was her job to report abuse if she suspected it. It was not her job to do the exam. There are ones who specialize in this and even they are careful as to if and when.

Also in such cases the child is usually talked to by those who are trained to ask the child questions. One last thing. Does it not seem weird to you in the least a nurse taking a kid to THE BATHROOM to examine her? Those who examine also usually have a witness with them too. Kids are all too often not molested by strangers but rather those they know and trust yes including school employee's.

I have no use whatsoever for perps. I have personally had to testify in court against such and a perps enabler who enabled two perps to act against one child at different times. The perps weren't treated half as bad as I was on stand. Nor in Tennessee are perps treated half as bad in court as what even the states on lawyers do to the LCSW's or others who trying and help the kids deal with it.

57 posted on 01/23/2010 5:20:45 PM PST by cva66snipe (Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?)
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To: cva66snipe

Well my opinion is based upon ‘intent’.

She was going to find out RIGHT AWAY, if the little girl was being sexually abused.

And to not embarrass the child, she didn’t do it on her desk and in the middle of the principal’s office...she took her where she wouldn’t feel any shame.

Of course she should be reprimanded...or even fired.

But, IMO she’s the same as the 7-11 manager who runs down and shoost the robber, saving the money for the company...only to get fired.

Intent.

...and I have a daughter.


58 posted on 01/23/2010 5:35:21 PM PST by DCPatriot ("It aint what you don't know that kills you. It's what you know that aint so" Theodore Sturgeon))
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To: Clara Lou

my son had a migraine starting at school. I asked the nurse to give him a small cup of black coffee from the teachers lounge. Sometimes that will stop a migraine. She said absolutely not. And told him to go buy a coke from the machine. The nurse is useless and I don’t know why my taxes go to pay for such useless stuff. They only put a bandage over a splinter, take temperatures and send kids home.


59 posted on 01/23/2010 6:09:24 PM PST by television is just wrong
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To: television is just wrong

I don’t know where you are, so I don’t know what your laws are. Our campus doesn’t have a coffee pot. Also, we have a law that won’t allow a school to give candy or soda to a student during school hours. I would think, though, that includg in the student’s file that mom REQUESTEd the soda for the purpose of the caffeine would make it OK.
The world has gone nuts with laws. But a parent could sue over the removal of a splinter if there were an infection. People are lawsuit-happy. And the state is controlling.


60 posted on 01/23/2010 7:29:26 PM PST by Clara Lou
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