John F. Kennedy's nephew has been hit with a lawsuit relating to his alleged scuffle with nurses in a New York hospital earlier this year (12).

Douglas Kennedy, the son of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was accused of child endangerment and harassment after he tried to take his two-day-old baby out of the maternity ward at Northern Westchester Hospital to get some fresh air on 7 January (12).

Nurses Cari Luciano and Anna Lane claimed he hurt them as they attempted to stop him from leaving, but a judge cleared Kennedy of any wrongdoing during a hearing earlier this month (Nov12).

And on Tuesday (27Nov12) the pair filed legal papers at the state Supreme Court in White Plains seeking $200,000 (Gbp125,000) in damages for assault and battery, negligence, and causing emotional and physical distress, according to local publication Journal News of Westchester.

Kennedy has vowed to fight the case - a statement from the star reads, "It is disturbing to us that Northern Westchester Hospital would employ people like this.

"We are horrified that we ever trusted Nwh or these nurses to care for our newborn babies. Cari Luciano and Anna Lane lied on January 7th to cover up their bizarre and inappropriate behaviour, including violently trying to grab our son...

"They are now shamefully continuing their lies in order to extort money from our family. Just as we did at the trial, we will resist this gross display of greed, and not cede any ground to liars and extortionists."