An article written by Edmund H. Mahony entitled: St. Francis Settles Reardon Child Sex Abuse Claims will reportedly cost the hospital $50 million. St. Francis Hospital and its insurers have reached settlements with virtually all of the 150 known child victims of hospital endocrinologist George Reardon, a milestone in years of contentious litigation that grew from what may be the most extensive case ever of child sexual abuse by an individual.
Reardon, who died in 1998, abused as many as 500 children from 1963 to 1993, when he was chief of endocrinology at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. He was forced to resign after a brother and sister he abused while studying medicine in Albany tracked him to Hartford and complained to state medical regulators.
A state mediator, Superior Court Judge Robert Holzberg, is credited with pushing the parties toward settlements, some of which were being finalized this week. People familiar with the cases said the agreements, including associated legal expenses, could cost the hospital and three of its insurers $50 million or more.