Defenses Wither for Negligent Abuse Investigators
Two new Washington appellate decisions give persons falsely
accused of child abuse better prospects for recovering damages from
Child Protective Services and police.
Incomplete investigation renders CPS liable
In Tyner v. Dept. of Social and Health Services, 141 Wn.2d 68 (2000),
the Washington Supreme Court reinstated a falsely accused father’s
verdict against CPS for his separation from his children. A CPS caseworker
had not attempted to speak with witnesses the father had
identified. The caseworker also had not put his conclusion that the
abuse allegation was unfounded in his report to the court. These
failings were negligent.
The court of appeals had set aside the verdict. It had reasoned
that CPS’s negligence was not the proximate cause of the separation
because a court had ordered it—even though the court did so after
receiving CPS’s report.
The supreme court found proximate cause. If CPS does not give a
court all material information, it held, the court’s action does not
shield CPS from liability.
Police liable for negligent investigation, too
The second case arose from the notorious Wenatchee "child sex
abuse ring" investigation of 1994-95. In Roberson v. Perez, 99
Wn.App. 439 (2000), children and parents sued police, alleging negligent
police interviewing during the investigation. The trial court
dismissed their claims, relying on case law that the police’s duty to
investigate crime is owed only to the public at large, not to particular
persons.
The court of appeals reversed. It relied on a statute directing both
police and CPS to investigate child abuse reports for the benefit of
children and their parents and custodians. The statute, the court
reasoned, thus created a protected class to whose members police
officers, like CPS workers, have a legal duty to investigate properly.
Copyright © 2003 David S. Marshall
