10-26-2018
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The state is paying a record $19.3 million to settle a lawsuit which accused the Department of Social and Health Services of ignoring red flags and sending an 18-month-old foster child to live with a man who severely beat her.
The News Tribune reports the abuse left the now 5-year-old girl blind and quadriplegic.
The lawsuit says DSHS failed to review the man’s records, including felonies and a history of domestic abuse, which would have immediately disqualified him.
“This little girl was utterly failed by DSHS, the very agency charged with protecting her,” said Tim Tesh, one of the young girl’s attorneys.