$32 Million Settlement Reached for Child Who Suffered Permanent Brain Damage

An infant boy who suffered permanent brain damage as a result of Tulare County Child Welfare Services’ failure to respond to reports of child abuse has obtained a $32 million settlement against the County. In addition to the monetary settlement obtained for the child and approved by the court, the County is required to confirm it has implemented policies and software that will enable the agency to better track and follow-up on prior complaints of alleged child abuse. Plaintiff is represented in the case by attorneys Brian Panish, Pete Kaufman, and Wyatt Vespermann of Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP. Plaintiff was also represented in the matter by co-counsel Stephen Cornwell and Nicholas R. Urgesi of Freedman Law.

This is believed to be the largest settlement ever obtained against a child protective services agency by a surviving child of abuse in the state of California.

“J.G.’s experience represents one of the worst cases of what happens when Child Welfare Services fails to fulfill its basic obligations,” said lead attorney, Brian Panish. “There is no amount of money that will restore J.G.’s quality of life and we will never know the life he could have lived if the County had just done its job. We hope this settlement serves as a wake-up call to child welfare service agencies everywhere.”

Read the source article at ourvalleyvoice.com