Case Files 19: Rady Children's Part 3
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What is the background of Madison Meyer's legal case?
True Story Media. Just a quick reminder that my new book, The Mother Next Door, Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy, is on sale right now wherever books are sold. The book was an Amazon editor's pick for nonfiction, and the Seattle Times called it a riveting deep dive into MVP. And if you are an audiobook lover and you like hearing my voice, which I'm assuming you do since you're listening here, You should know that I narrate the audio book as well. If you have already read the book, which I know so many of you have, thank you so much. Please let me know your thoughts and questions at helloandnobodieshouldbelieveme.com and we will bring my co-author, Detective Mike Weber, on for a little book Q&A and post-retirement tell-all special. Thanks for your support. Hello, it's Andrea, and today we are sharing part three of our coverage of the lawsuit against Rady Children's in San Diego, California.
If you have not listened to the first two episodes, please do go and listen to those first, as this episode will make a lot more sense. So we have previously covered the events that led up to Dana Gaske and her husband, Bill Meyer, suing Rady Children's and a number of other defendants. Today, we're going to be jumping back into the story in early 2020 and learning a little bit more about what happened with Madison Meyer, Bill and Dana's daughter, after she was returned to the custody of her parents and how she ends up ultimately joining this lawsuit. I'm starting off with a solo mission to recap some of the events, and then I will be back with Dr. Becks to pick up our conversation about the legal case as it stands today. As a quick refresh, in the first two episodes of the series, we covered this complex and escalating medical and legal odyssey of Madison Meyer, who was a teenager during the time of these events.
Her story begins with a reported surfing injury in 2016. Following this, according to the lawsuit, she was then diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, CRPS, and POTS. Over the course of several years, Madison then undergoes multiple surgeries and treatments for chronic pain and ends up with a host of other complications, including GI symptoms, feeding tubes, and a central line. Her treatment spanned multiple healthcare systems, including Kaiser Permanente, where her parents work, and a controversial specialist in New York, who we will be covering in an upcoming episode. Ultimately, Madison ends up being admitted to Rady Children's in early 2019. During this time, the hospital's suspicions of medical child abuse prompted covert video surveillance and two reports to Child Protective Services, or HHSA, as it's known in California. The second of these reports leads to a court-ordered separation from Madison's parents, which takes us up to where we begin our episode today.
On February 5th, 2020, juvenile court judge Michael Imhoff dismissed the second Health and Human Services Agency, HHSA, complaint and returned custody of Madison to her parents, Bill and Dana. So importantly, we do not have a copy of this judge's order because it's not part of the public record. So we do not have the full story of why the judge made this decision. But there are several interesting quotes included in the lawsuit that have also appeared in the media coverage that give us a bit of insight. As to the evidence presented at trial about the abuse itself, all we know is that the judge ultimately ruled that he found the allegations of Munchausen by proxy to be, quote, unfounded. Now, as a reminder, the role of a juvenile court judge in a case like this is to determine whether or not the parents can provide a safe home for their child, which this judge evidently believed that they could at this time. Now, as we've discussed many times on this show, this judge's decision could mean a lot of things.
It could mean that he didn't find the evidence presented at trial to be convincing. It could mean that he didn't have any understanding of what Munchausen by proxy abuse is, which unfortunately is often the case with judges. It could also mean that he doesn't believe Munchausen by proxy even exists. Again, not as uncommon as one would hope.
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