Jury orders DPHHS to pay $11M to child abuse victim in neglect case

A Cascade County jury has determined the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services is liable for $11.2 million in damages for failing to remove a young girl from an abusive home in 2009. 

The jury issued its verdict on Monday after a weeklong trial that found the state negligent in the case that left Seraphina Wilson permanently blind and with a traumatic brain injury.

The state's Child and Family Services division was aware of the abuse in December 2008, Wilson's attorneys said in a press release this week announcing the verdict. In February the following year, first responders brought Wilson to the hospital with lifelong injuries suffered at the hands of her father's live-in girlfriend. 

"The jury's verdict is an important measure of accountability for what happened to Sera," said Raph Graybill, an attorney for the girl. "The verdict also recognizes the importance of properly investigating child abuse and protecting children when abuse has occurred."

A spokesperson for DPHHS declined to comment for this story. 

Alicia Jo Hocter was found guilty of aggravated assault and criminal endangerment in 2010 for swinging Wilson's head into the top bar of her crib and failing to seek medical attention even after returning to find her amid a seizure, the Great Falls Tribune reported. Wilson was 6 months old at the time. Hocter was sentenced to 30 years in prison. 

Through her court-appointed guardian, Wilson sued the state in 2013, arguing a CFS caseworker did not remove her from the home after instances of abuse in December 2008. Court documents state the CFS office lost or destroyed photographic evidence of bruising on the girl's abdomen which doctors had characterized in a report as child abuse, Montana Free Press reported.

Two reports were made to the agency the following month — one from an anonymous caller who smelled marijuana and heard the baby crying in her father's apartment, and another from a nurse who noted the girl was left unattended at the hospital — yielded no investigative response from CFS. 

Hocter's assault on the girl next month prompted Cascade County prosecutors to initially charge the woman with attempted homicide. A jury found her guilty on the lesser charges. 

Monday's verdict against the state was the second time damages were ordered of the department. In 2021 a jury awarded Wilson more than $16 million, but the state appealed and the Montana Supreme Court sent the case back to the district court for a new jury trial. 

Wilson is now 16 years old. Graybill said she requires 24/7 care and attention as a result of her injuries, and the $11.2 million awarded to her by Monday's jury will help cover her future medical costs.