Lawyer Sues Quadriplegic Ex-Girlfriend for Custody of Their Baby Son
Obviously, a mother who cannot walk, feels nothing from the chest down and has only limited use of her arms faces certain challenges when caring for an infant. But are they sufficient reason for a judge to take away custody of her child?
That is a central question in a custody battle being fought by attorney David Trais, 49, against his ex-girlfriend Kaney O’Neill, reports the Chicago Tribune.
The 31-year-old woman, who was disabled in a fall while in the U.S. Navy, receives $91,000 in veteran’s benefits annually, and she has also runs a 2-year-old general contracting business that she hopes will turn a profit down the road. With the help of her mother, a brother who lives in an adjacent apartment, a caregiver and a service dog who can open doors and pick up objects, O’Neill takes care of herself and her son in an immaculate home in the Chicago suburbs and always has an able-bodied adult there to help with the baby. Her son’s room is painted a sherbet green and is decorated with zoo animals.
But the quadriplegic O’Neill is “not a fit and proper person” to care for 5-month-old Aidan James O’Neill, contends Trais in a Cook County Circuit Court case. In addition to his ex-girlfriend’s disability—which, he says, significantly limits her ability to care for him—Trais also alleges that she suffers from depression and smokes and drinks in front of the baby.
In response, O’Neill says she sees a therapist regularly and could hardly smoke or drink in front of the baby unless a caregiver was lighting the cigarettes or pouring the drinks for her. Even if she did smoke or drink, which she denies, both are legal activities, the newspaper notes.
Trais declined to comment and his lawyer didn’t return the Tribune’s phone calls. However, legal observers say the case is likely to turn on the amorphous “best interests of the child” standard that is generally applied in custody battles between parents and the Americans with Disabilities Act. While it prohibits discrimination against an individual based on his or her disabilities, it would allow the judge to consider circumstances that might make it difficult for a parent to meet a child’s needs, says Bruce Boyer. He is the director of the Civitas ChildLaw Clinic of Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
The Tribune details the story of O’Neill’s pregnancy and the birth of her son in an earlier article and provides a photo album on another webpage.
