MAN SUES TO CUDDLE WITH ILL WIFE; CASE DISMISSED.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Barry Belinky says he only wanted to spend one night a week cuddling with his wife of 31 years. But the long-term care long-term care (LTC), n the provision of medical, social, and personal care services on a recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental disorders. hospital where she lives, paralyzed par·a·lyze tr.v. par·a·lyzed, par·a·lyz·ing, par·a·lyz·es 1. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic. 2. To make unable to move or act: paralyzed by fear. and barely able to speak, refused. The hospital fears that if the couple have sex, it could be considered rape because Diane Belinky cannot give her consent. So Belinky sued. His lawsuit was to have gone to trial Wednesday, but Common Pleas Trial-level courts of general jurisdiction. One of the royal common-law courts in England existing since the beginning of the thirteenth century and developing from the Curia Regis, or the King's Court. Judge Robert Ruehlman dismissed the case Tuesday without explanation. He did not return a call for comment Wednesday. Belinky, who insists he has no intention of having sex with his wife, said he will appeal. "She's confused and scared, and it was my opinion that . . . it would be helpful for me to be able to stay over," he said in an interview from his home in Finneytown, a Cincinnati suburb. The Belinkys have two daughters, 25 and 23. Diane Belinky, a 54-year-old synagogue administrator, was admitted to the Drake Center in 1994 after an aneurysm aneurysm (ăn`y  rĭzəm), localized dilatation of a blood vessel, particularly an artery, or the heart. in her brain ruptured.
Belinky said Drake is the only place in the region offering the level of
care his wife needs.
The couple's marriage therapist wrote to the hospital, recommending that Belinky, 53, be allowed to spend the night in his wife's bed. In a memo to the therapist, Kendra Shearer, Drake's vice president of nursing, indicated that the request was rejected because of the possibility the couple might have sex. "Case law in this area is very clear: any type of sexual relations sexual relations pl.n. 1. Sexual intercourse. 2. Sexual activity between individuals. in the absence of consent is rape," Shearer wrote. That, in turn, could open the hospital to a lawsuit. Drake spokeswoman Kay Nolen also said that Belinky's presence after visiting hours visiting hours Noun, pl the times when visitors are allowed to see someone in a hospital or other institution: many prisoners' wives complain about the short visiting hours visiting hours could violate other patients' privacy, disrupt the staff and create a safety hazard. "We're not running a hotel. We're running a health care facility," the spokeswoman said Wednesday. After Belinky sued, the hospital in October began allowing him to spend one night a week with his wife pending the outcome of the case. He has been going there Friday or Saturday nights. Nolen said the hospital probably will let the overnight visits continue pending the outcome of Belinky's appeal - as long as his wife's health does not deteriorate. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion