The daughter of a deceased child's godmother is suing the state, specifically the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, for neglect in their investigations after repeated warnings of abuse in the child's home went largely ignored, as reported by The Star-Ledger in New Jersey.
C.G., 8 years-old at the time of her death, had been discovered in a dark, soiled bedroom. Her autopsy revealed that she had died due to a broken leg, which had been left untreated, and malnutrition.
C.G. had two siblings aged 6 and 7 that lived in the same home and received similar injuries, however, they both had survived. All had been allegedly beaten and starved.
The mother of the three children, K.R., along with her live-in roommate, M.J., have been indicted on murder charges. The two women allegedly belonged to a religious cult.
The wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by, C.F., who is the daughter of C.G's godmother. C.F. claims that though there were repeated accusations of abuse in the home the state failed to act.
C.F. has been appointed by the court to manage C.G.'s estate. Any monetary award would most likely be held for two children that survived.
K.R. was investigated by the Division of Child Protection and Permanency four times between 2006 and 2008. All were due to reports of abuse and neglect. One report, where C.G. told investigators that her mother had hit her, was determined by the state to be "unfounded."
C.G. was found dead nine days after an anonymous caller reported that she was being abused. No field visit had been ordered. The division has a report of the call but it was not linked to the other case files – though the home address was the same as it was in the previous reports.
Attorney Eric Kahn, representing C.F., said, "That phone call is the key. It's absolutely grounds for negligence and the tragedy of it is, had they realized it was the same family, this could have been prevented."
The suit claims that the state is responsible for C.G.'s wrongful death, pain and suffering. The suit also states that C.G.'s civil rights were violated due their negligence in failing to protect her from harm.
According to Kahn, C.G.'s case is comparable to an earlier case regarding 7 year-old F.W. that was starved and beaten to death.
In that case the state paid a $7.5 million settlement.
Kahn added, "Frankly, when I read what happened here it sounds almost exactly like what happened in (F.W.). DYFS comes out a bunch of times, doesn't substantiate anything and then one day a young boy's body is found in the basement and two brothers are found horribly neglected and abused. The facts of the (C.G.) case are eerily similar."
If you have a case of wrongful death contact a personal injury lawyer now to file a lawsuit. Your pain and suffering can be eased once your case is settled.