A judge has ruled against a request to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit, which names two social workers as irresponsible in supervising a young boy while under the care of legal guardians, and the case will now be allowed to proceed, as reported by ABC7News.
The boy, C.G., died in 2007 at age 7, weighing 31 pounds, in what the Denver coroner deemed was homicide due to dehydration and starvation. His legal guardians, J.P. and S.B., were charged with his murder and were both given prison sentences.
J.P. was given custody of C.G., and the boy's younger half-brother, as he was the father to the younger child - but J.P. was not related to C.G. The younger sibling appears not to have suffered with any type of injury.
C.G.'s biological parents filed the suit against social workers M.B. and M.P. At the time of C.G.'s death, M.B. was employed by the Denver County Department Human Services, DCDHS , as head of Investigation of Child Maltreatment and Intake Services. M.P. was also employed by DCDHS, as a case record supervisor.
After learning that his lawsuit would be allowed to move forward, J.N., C.G.'s biological father, told reporters, "People who are responsible for children have to do more than the minimum and if they don't do their jobs there are going to be consequences."
M.B and M.P. remain employed in their same supervisory positions within the DCDHS. M.B. is responsible for decisions on foster children and adoption and M.P. trains the intern caseworkers.
In May of 2006 the DCDHS became involved with C.G.'s welfare when they removed his from his mother's custody and placed him with J.P. By January of 2007 a worker at the boy's elementary school reported suspicions of physical abuse and C.G. was removed from J.P.'s care three days later.
An emergency caseworker deemed that C.G.'s injuries to be "non-accidental trauma" and he was returned to his foster patent on the same day he was removed.
Upon C.G.'s swift return, DCDHS warned J.P. "not (to) use physical discipline" on the boy.
According to the court order, M.B and M.P., both supervising C.G.'s case, closed it as they found the abuse allegations "unfounded."
The judge found four complaints of reported abuse, or neglect, between January 17 and April 17, 2007 - the latter date was when school officials reported to DCDHS that C.G. had not been to school since March 9, and that the foster parents were unreachable.
The judge found that neither M.B. nor M.P. investigated the April 17, 2007 complaint. By May 6, 2007, C.G. was found near death in a closet in his foster home.
The closet was infested with the child's urine and feces. He had been locked in without food or water. After being removed to a hospital, he later died.
The judge's order read: "Plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged facts showing an affirmative link between the failure to investigate the April 17, 2007 referral and the death of (C.G.)...Had Defendants properly exercised their professional judgment in response to the April 17, 2007 referral, these injuries may well have been avoided."
Loosing a loved one in a wrongful death scenario, knowing that it was preventable, is grounds for a lawsuit. Contact a personal injury lawyer today for help!