## Facts

- Shenna Grimm, a 17-year-old minor, became pregnant after being raped by her stepfather, who was later convicted of rape in a separate criminal case.
- Grimm went to Akron City Hospital, part of Summa Health System, to give birth.
- The stepfather was allowed to be present in the delivery room and in Grimm’s hospital room during intimate moments, including when she was unclothed and breastfeeding.
- Grimm later reported psychological harm, including recurring nightmares, which she attributed to the stepfather’s presence at the hospital.
- Grimm sued the hospital entities, the county children services agency (CSB), and three CSB employees, alleging negligent noncompliance with Ohio’s mandatory child-abuse reporting requirements.
- The trial court denied summary judgment to the hospital and CSB defendants.
- At trial, the court granted a directed verdict for CSB and its employees at the close of Grimm’s case.
- The jury found for Grimm against the hospital entities and awarded $224,000 for failure to report known or suspected child abuse or neglect.
- The trial court denied the hospital entities’ post-trial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or, alternatively, a new trial.

## Issues

1. Whether the trial court erred in denying the hospital entities’ motion for JNOV or a new trial on Grimm’s claim that they negligently failed to make a mandatory child-abuse report under Ohio law.
2. Whether the trial court erred in granting a directed verdict for CSB and its employees on Grimm’s claims based on alleged failure to act on information indicating abuse.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed the denial of JNOV and a new trial for the hospital entities, leaving the jury’s verdict and $224,000 award intact.
- The appellate court affirmed the directed verdict in favor of CSB and the three CSB employees, rejecting Grimm’s cross-appeal.

## Legal Principles

- Ohio’s mandatory child-abuse reporting statute (including Ohio Rev. Code § 2151.421) imposes a reporting duty on specified professionals, including hospital personnel, when abuse is known or reasonably suspected; a failure to report may support a negligence claim if duty, breach, causation, and damages are proven.
- Under Ohio Civ.R. 50, JNOV and directed verdict are proper only when, viewing the evidence most strongly for the nonmovant, reasonable minds can reach only one conclusion adverse to that party; conflicts in evidence and credibility are for the jury.
- A new trial is not warranted where the record contains sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find for the prevailing party on the essential elements.
- Claims against a public children services agency and its employees require evidence permitting a non-speculative finding of the necessary knowledge, breach of a cognizable duty, and proximate causation; absent such evidence, a directed verdict is proper.

## Conclusion

The court upheld civil liability against the hospital entities based on sufficient evidence that hospital staff could have reasonably suspected child sexual abuse and failed to report it, while also holding that Grimm’s proof against the county children services agency and its employees was legally insufficient to reach the jury.


Grimm v. Summit Cnty. Children Servs. Bd., No. 22030, 2006 WL 1329689 (Ohio Ct. App. May 17, 2006)