The civil mediation in Hartford, Connecticut between St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and the victims of Dr. George Reardon cleared a hurdle, allowing the mediation to proceed. The Travelers, Evanston Insurance Company, and Pacific Employers were locked in a dispute over their respective liabilities to the victims. They have put off that particular litigation, and now the mediation can proceed.

The Nature of this Criminal Mediation

Over the course of about 30 years, Dr. Reardon, St. Francis Hospital's former chief endocrinologist, sexually abused literally hundreds of children in his office at St. Francis until he left the hospital. He died in 1998, and some time later, approximately 60,000 slides of child pornography were found behind a false wall in his former home. Upon this revelation, hundreds of former patients brought litigation against St. Francis, and the hospital's public relations nightmare began.

The jury's award to the victim in just one case was $2.75 million dollars. Fundraising and recruitment efforts suffered from this scandal. This controversy eclipsed the news of a significant building addition on the hospital campus. Out of the hundreds of cases, 39 still remain to be resolved, and the mediation will give everyone a chance for closure.

Insurance Provider Disputes Under Separate Mediation Services

The abuse cases and the coverage disputes, while intimately linked, will have to be settled separately. The current agreement between the three insurance providers and the hospital is a non legally binding structure of liability. The insurance providers have already indicated that if the civil mediation settlement in the abuse cases are not to their satisfaction, they will argue in Federal court before paying anything.