Doctor's lawsuit claims Westmoreland children's bureau abused its power

A lawsuit that claims a Ligonier physician and his wife were harassed and threatened by child welfare caseworkers will be litigated in Westmoreland County.

Court documents filed this week revealed the six-count lawsuit filed last year in Somerset County was transferred to Westmoreland, where allegations of conspiracy, negligence and abuse of power were raised against the county agency that conducted a child welfare investigation in response to criminal charges that were filed against the doctor.

The doctor, his wife and two children are identified by initials only in the lawsuit. The court filing refers to a criminal trial conducted in July in which RM, a Ligonier doctor, was found not guilty of charges he molested a teenage girl.

According to the 40-page lawsuit, RM and his wife were subjected to repeated harassment by the county children’s bureau and the family was in constant jeopardy of having the couple’s children removed from their custody during 2017. The lawsuit alleges a children’s supervisor and a caseworker initially removed two children from the home and placed them in foster care after the sexual assault allegations against the doctor were raised.

The lawsuit claims attempts to appeal children’s bureau decisions resulted in retaliations that included inappropriate oversight, such as a requirement that the mother never sleep so she could have continuous watch over her children. The court filing also claims the family was forced to live apart when the mother and children moved to Somerset County. The Somerset child welfare agency closed the case against the family in November 2017, according to the lawsuit.

The mother “remained in fear of retaliation and tried to avoid Westmoreland County. Even when a jury found RM not guilty, (she) was fearful that WCCB would retaliate by taking her children away,” the lawsuit states.

Westmoreland County, the children’s bureau, bureau Executive Director Shara Saveikis, Supervisor Roy Kindelsberger and caseworker Alisha Dick are named as defendants in the lawsuit. David Regoli, the county’s attorney, could not be reached for comment. Larry Kerr, the lawyer for Dick, confirmed she no longer works for Westmoreland County. He declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Jessica Tully, one of the family’s attorneys, also declined to comment.

A Somerset judge in April ruled the case should be litigated in Westmoreland County.

The family is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

In addition to money, the family is seeking the termination of the county’s policy to remove children from their parents without a hearing and other procedural safeguards.