A Florida jury recently awarded $15 million to an 8-year-old girl as a result of negligence by the state’s Department of Children and Families.
A Florida jury recently awarded $15 million to an 8-year-old girl as a result of negligence by the state’s Department of Children and Families.
At the time of the abuse, the girl was just 18 months old. She lived with her 3-year-old brother, her biological mother, and her stepfather. In May 2017, an anonymous tip was sent to the child abuse hotline regarding the state of their living conditions. According to the caller, the family’s home “had no furniture” and “the parents sold drugs.”
During the lawsuit against the DCF, it became clear that the agency had previously been made aware of these dangerous conditions. The stepfather of the young girl had a significant criminal record, including DUI and burglary charges. Additionally, he served a four-year prison sentence for battery of a police officer. The plaintiff stated that the girl’s caretakers“harbored a fugitive” in the family home.
After receiving the initial call on the child abuse hotline, DCF agents visited the family’s residence and a motel where they temporarily relocated. The investigators did not ask about the cause for this move, nor did they drug test the parents.
In the agency’s July 2017 final risk assessment, the young girl’s risk level was deemed to be “moderate,” and that she was safe with her mother and stepfather.
Months later, in September 2017, numerous reports of abuse and neglect surfaced. Within the following weeks, the toddler was treated at a local hospital for “fractures and bruises.” She had been brutally beaten, suffered a brain bleed, and slipped into critical condition.
In 2021, a lawsuit was filed against the state’s Department of Children and Families regarding the agency’s failure to investigate the young girl’s abuse as a toddler. The complaint asserts that this negligence resulted in permanent injuries including paralysis from the neck down. She now requires lifetime monitoring, care, and various types of therapy.
The trial took place in Volusia County civil court, with the jury’s verdict issued in just three hours. They found that the Florida DCF’s negligence did, in fact, cause the girl’s suffering and injuries.
The child’s mother and stepfather were convicted of aggravated child abuse and drug possession and will likely spend decades in prison.
Lawyers and jurors alike worked diligently “to ensure that [the survivor] will be able to live at home with her adoptive family and have the care, dignity, and resources that she deserves for the rest of her life.”
Authors: Alexis Kabat and Andy Goldwasser
