A residential mental health treatment facility in Palm Beach County, Florida can’t admit new clients with a “history of self-harm, suicidal ideations or suicide attempts” according to an order issued by the state. As reported by WFLX Fox 29, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) claims that employees at the facility violated multiple policies in the days leading up to the tragic suicide of a 15-year-old.
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Archive for the ‘Negligence’ CategoryIllinois Daycare Safety Crisis: From Tragedy to Systemic Change in Child ProtectionA Tragic Case Reshapes Illinois Daycare Safety Fifteen years ago, on January 14, 2009, a child’s death in the hands of a daycare led to many questions of child neglect and abuse. The daycare worker, Melissa Calusinski, was working at a daycare in a suburb of Chicago. According to Melissa, late that afternoon, after she put Ben Kingan down on the carpet and he crawled into his bouncy seat on the floor, she noticed something was wrong with the child. He would not wake when she touched him and had orange foam coming out of his nose. Ben was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead an hour later. Your Family Deserved the Truth: Fighting Adoption Agency NegligenceWhen adoptive parents welcome a child into their home, they trust adoption agencies to provide complete and accurate information about their child’s background. Unfortunately, this trust can be broken through adoption agency negligence–a serious legal issue that can have devastating consequences for families and may warrant an adoption negligence lawsuit. Such negligence can include failing to disclose critical behavioral and mental health histories, which has led to instances of physical and sexual abuse within adoptive families who were left unprepared and unsupported in addressing their child’s specialized needs. WFSU: The Franklin County sheriff calls out DCF for abandoning kidsAs reported by WFSU, Franklin County Sheriff A. J. Smith is again calling out the Florida Department of Children and Families for failing to serve abused children and neglected kids in his jurisdiction. Justice for Kids Achieves Three Top 50 Florida VerdictsJustice for Kids, a division of Kelley Kronenberg, is pleased to announce the division and several of its attorneys have been recognized on Top Verdict’s list of the top 50 plaintiff’s jury verdicts obtained in Florida in 2023. These include:
Child Welfare Agencies Accused of Keeping Foster Children With Developmental Disabilities at Hospitals Beyond Medical NecessityFailure to discharge a foster child from a psychiatric hospital is actionable as a Civil Rights Claim Invoking 42 USC § 1983. Justice for Kids attorneys filed a civil rights lawsuit by a foster child for damages pursuant to 42 USC § 1983 in federal court in Palm Beach County, FL and for negligence against various Florida Department of Children and Families employees and a private mental health crisis stabilization unit for violating the due process rights of a foster child who was confined for almost one year in a crisis stabilization unit because there were no appropriate placements for discharge. The Plaintiff settled this lawsuit against the private agency for an undisclosed amount and the DCF and its employees for $1.6 million. Family Awarded $13.5 Million for Adoption that Led to Molestation Following a Trial Led by Justice for KidsFollowing a seven-day trial led by the Justice for Kids Team, a jury awarded $13.5 million to a family that suffered harm after the adoption agency Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS) failed to warn them about psychological problems that make their adopted son unsafe to be around their daughters, one of whom was later molested. The $13.5 million dollar verdict against JFCS validated claims by the boy’s adoptive parents that the nonprofit failed to convey how risky it would be to place the boy in their home. “They cannot escape accountability,” attorney Justin Grosz told jurors during final arguments for the seven-day trial, which centered on whether Jewish Family staff failed before adoption to alert the couple to behavioral problems that could last a lifetime. Jury Awards Father $4.5 Million in Damages in Wrongful Death Case Involving Broward Sheriff’s OfficeChristopher Nevarez, the father of Makenzie Nevarez, a 6-month-old baby girl who suffered catastrophic injuries and later passed away from blunt force trauma, has been awarded $4.5 million in damages in a wrongful death case involving the Broward Sheriff’s Office for failure to protect his daughter. Justin Grosz and Stacie Schmerling, partners with Justice for Kids at Kelley Kronenberg, represented Makenzie’s father and grandmother in the case, which alleged that the child protection investigator, under the auspices of BSO at the time, could have done more to further investigate previous injuries and keep Makenzie safe while in the care of her mother and her mother’s roommate. Sun-Sentinel: Family of baby killed in abuse case seeking $15 million from Broward Sheriff’s OfficeJury deliberations are underway in this Justice for Kids case involving the death of 6-month-old Makenzie Nevarez. Her family is accusing the Broward Sheriff’s Office of negligence. Sun-Sentinel: A baby girl who was the subject of an abuse investigation was killed. Now, a trial begins that accuses child-welfare officials of negligence.Justice for Kids is in court this week regarding a lawsuit about 6-month-old baby Makenzie Nevarez, whose babysitter went to prison in her death. They have alleged that Broward Sheriff’s Office was negligent, arguing the child protection investigator, under the auspices of the agency at the time, could have done more to further the investigation and keep the baby safe. Makenzie had previously been taken to hospitals in northwest Broward twice for unexplained injuries before BSO put her back into the care of the mother and her roommate who was often the babysitter. Tragically, she died more than a week later. Another Child Death from Neglect After Being Left in a Motor VehicleAs reported by WPLG Local 10, “Detectives are investigating how a 3-year-old boy died inside a car outside of a school on Monday afternoon in Miami Gardens. According to the Miami Gardens Police Department, officers responded just after 3:45 p.m. to the Lubavitch Educational Center, at 17330 NW 7th Ave. Fire Rescue personnel used a helicopter to fly the boy to the hospital where a doctor pronounced him dead, police said.” |
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