Washington Foster Care Wrongful Death Attorney Fighting for Families After Tragedy
The death of a child in foster care is any parent’s worst nightmare. A foster care home should be a safe and supportive space for a child dealing with challenges in their home environment. It should provide love and comfort during an unpredictable and unexpected time. When a foster care placement turns out instead to be a dangerous environment, it is a tragedy for all involved.
Although wrongful death in foster care is rare, it is not unheard of. It can be very challenging to find statistics on wrongful deaths in foster care. It is estimated that between 2005 and 2015, an average of 330 children died in foster care each year. Nationally, statistics suggest that children die from abuse and neglect at a rate of 2.46 children per 100,000.
While these statistics are horrifying, there are options available for parents who suffer from the unimaginable circumstances of losing a child. Recognizing that nothing can ever repair the emotional damage of losing a child, Washington law does provide a legal cause of action for the injury or death of a child that attempts to compensate parents for the loss that they have experienced and gives families an opportunity to hold those who have hurt them accountable for their actions.
Bringing A Wrongful Death Claim
In Washington, parents are entitled to bring wrongful death actions for the death of their child where the death occurred because of another person’s intentional, reckless, or negligent actions. Wrongful death can occur where a foster care parent intentionally harms a child, but also where they fail to provide adequate supervision that leads to a child’s harm, or their negligence, over time, leads to the death of a child.
Wrongful death can arise in a variety of circumstances, including, for example, the failure to monitor a child’s activities while playing outside near a pool, negligently driving a vehicle with a child in the car, failing to provide medical care when a child has a medical issue, providing a child with insufficient nutrition, or maintaining an unsafe home. Accidents, even seemingly innocent ones, can form the basis for a wrongful death claim under certain circumstances.
Adults who lose a child while the child is in foster care may bring a claim for wrongful death. If you have concerns about whether you can bring a lawsuit, an important first step is to speak with a Washington foster care wrongful death law firm, such as Truitt and Lyons.
Additionally, where parents are divorced, each parent is entitled to bring their own claim for wrongful death, and they may pursue separate damages depending on the nature of their relationship with the child. Washington law does require that one parent be notified if the other has decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Damages for Wrongful Death
In the aftermath of the loss of a child, it can be difficult to think about the damages a parent experiences in terms of money. But Washington law provides that parents may be entitled to a wide range of damages, including compensation for health care expenses that may have been incurred in trying to treat a child, compensation for the loss of love and companionship of the child, and for injury to the parent-child relationship. If a child were older and providing support to the parents, a parent may also recover for the loss of the child’s services or loss of the child’s financial or emotional support. Other damages may include loss of future wages or damages for pain and suffering experienced prior to death.
Proving these damages may take the form of providing medical documentation or medical records for health expenses that are incurred, or proof of loss of a particular source of income from the child after death. But often the most compelling evidence is the testimony of the parent or guardian themselves explaining the devastating impact of the loss and how it has changed their lives. Family members and friends may also provide supportive testimony about how a parent has been impacted. And if the parent is being treated by a counselor or medical professional after the loss, they may be able to testify to the current and ongoing psychological and emotional impacts.
Liability for Wrongful Death
Wrongful death claims are not limited to the individual who engaged in conduct harmful to a child. In Washington, the state itself can be liable if it places a child in a home with parents that are unable to properly care for the child, where it fails to take action to remove a child from a knowingly dangerous environment, or where it fails to undertake its ongoing responsibility to monitor and investigate foster home placements. Individuals or agencies may have contributed to the circumstances surrounding the death of the child, a Washington foster care wrongful death attorney at our firm can help you explore your legal options and give you advice on the proper focus of any future lawsuit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a deadline for bringing a foster care wrongful death action?
Yes, unlike claims for sexual abuse, Washington state law has a three-year statute of limitations for bringing a wrongful death claim. This means that a parent generally has three years from the date of a child’s death to bring a claim. There are particular exceptions to this three-year time limit, but they generally apply only in rare circumstances and cannot be relied upon to give a family additional time.
While three years can seem like a long time, in the wake of a significant tragedy, it can go by very quickly. Additionally, it may take time to obtain the documents important to a wrongful death claim or to fully investigate the facts of the case. For these reasons, any parent considering a possible wrongful death lawsuit should consider speaking with a Washington foster care wrongful death attorney as soon as they feel ready to do so.
How does an attorney investigate wrongful death?
At Truitt and Lyons, if retained, our foster care wrongful death attorneys will conduct a thorough and exhaustive investigation of your claims of wrongful death. We know that losing a child is horrific, and we provide support for parents seeking justice for the damage that has occurred. We will request and review relevant records from state agencies and related corporate partners, as well as from professionals who may have worked with your child, like a social worker.
We will also look for evidence that your child’s foster care placement may have previously been reported for concerning behavior, or that reports were not adequately investigated by Washington state agencies. Our goal is to understand the full picture of how your child’s death might have occurred and whether the state of Washington was doing a sufficient job of keeping children in its responsibility from harm. With this information, we can advise you on your legal options and the best next steps.
How do I pay for a wrongful death attorney?
Our Washington foster care wrongful death attorney team works on a contingency basis, which means that we do not require clients to pay an hourly fee. If we help you to successfully resolve your case, we receive a percentage of the amount of your award for compensation. We will also handle any costs that may be incurred as a part of litigating on your behalf, such as document fees or courtroom costs. These costs will be reimbursed to us if we successfully resolve your case. This structure helps ensure that you do not have the stress of paying legal bills while still trying to process your child’s wrongful death.
Speak to a Washington Foster Care Wrongful Death Attorney
If you have questions about bringing a wrongful death lawsuit or wish to learn more about what to do if a child you know dies while in foster care, contact our foster care wrongful death attorney team today.
Our firm’s successes include a settlement of a wrongful death claim against the State of Washington for over $6.4 million.