Outrageous $1Million Settlement to Oklahoma Foster Parent Whose Infant Child Died in Her Care

Aurora Espinal-Cruz was 7 months old when she died in 2002 in the  Tulsa foster home of Deanza Jones. According to Tulsa World, “Aurora and her 4-year-old sister, Casandra, were placed  in Jones’ home shortly before Aurora’s death Jan. 27,  2002.”

“”Aurora was found to have been suffering from untreated  viral respiratory illness for days. She died by  suffocation on her own emesis and coughed up blood while  left abandoned by Jones in a filthy crib infested by  cockroaches. Aurora’s skin in and around her diaper area   had been eaten away by cockroaches,” the appeal states.

In filings that were part of a state lawsuit against  her, Jones denied allegations that she neglected the  child.” Deanza Jones was never charged with any crime.

According to a Lawyer USA article from 2006, Deanza had three biological  sons under the age of 15. Lawyers for the estate say that the home was completely infested with roaches and that Deanza delegated the care of the foster children to her young biological sons. On the night on January 26, 2002, a mere 17 days after being placed in the home, Aurora vomited in the crib. The son cleaned it up but left the soiled sheets in the crib. The NEXT NIGHT she was found dead in the crib by one of the sons, asphyxiated from her own vomit and her skin around her soiled diaper eaten away by cockroaches.
$20 Million on Behalf of foster child who died in negligent care

[Graves McLain.com 7/2/06 Lawyer USA article]

“Although the baby’s estate won a $24 million judgment in state court against the foster mother, she had no funds to pay the judgment. Two insurance companies providing policies for DHS claimed that their policies shouldn’t have to pay the claim, and the matter wound up in federal court.

In order to collect the judgment, attorneys representing the baby’s estate had to agree to give the foster mother a portion of any settlement proceeds from their federal “bad faith” lawsuit against the insurance companies.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell ruled that foster children lack standing to bring such lawsuits, preventing the baby’s estate from collecting on the entire judgment, and the 10th Circuit’s ruling upheld that decision.”

“Michael Barkett, an attorney representing the estate of 7-month-old Aurora Espinal-Cruz, said the firm plans to contest the ruling.

“If it (the ruling) stands, it preserves the ability of insurance companies to collude with negligent foster parents, avoid accountability to foster kids, and forecloses foster kids’ rights to protect and enforce their rights against such conduct,” Barkett said.

However, Keith Taunton, a spokesman for Colony Insurance Co., said, “The holding by the 10th Circuit in this appeal merely reaffirms Oklahoma law regarding the interpretation of insurance contracts generally and does not change anything as far as foster parents or the DHS foster program are concerned.”

Colony was one of two insurance companies paid by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to provide liability insurance under the foster care program.”

Convoluted Path to Foster Parent Receiving $1Million

“In 2003, Cruz’s estate sued Jones, DHS and several DHS employees individually in Tulsa County District Court.

The estate’s attorney alleged that DHS had received child-abuse complaints against Jones in the past. About nine months after Aurora’s death, Tulsa police investigated a new report of child abuse and arrested Jones on a complaint of injury to a minor child, an arrest report states. She was later charged on accusations that she struck an 8-year-old boy several times with an extension cord, injuring his leg.

Jones admitted her guilt and received a two-year deferred sentence, records show.

DHS dropped Jones and her husband from its foster program because of the child abuse allegations in 2002, officials said. The lawsuit also alleged that DHS workers failed to notify Aurora’s foster parents of her respiratory illness.

DHS settled the lawsuit for the maximum allowed under state law, $175,000, and was dropped as a defendant from the suit.

DHS was required by state law to provide liability insurance coverage for foster parents and purchased the coverage from Colony and United National Insurance Co.

Barkett said the companies rejected an offer to settle the state case for the maximum limits of each policy: $600,000 combined.

After a trial in 2007, a jury returned a $20 million verdict against Jones, which grew to $24 million with interest, records show.

But the insurance companies claimed that their policies shouldn’t have to pay the judgment. In such cases, those who hold insurance policies – in this case, the foster mother – can file “bad faith” claims to collect judgments, alleging that insurance companies should have paid claims under the policy.

The issue of whether a foster child had standing to file such a lawsuit against an insurance company had not been decided in Oklahoma before, Barkett said. He said the estate was forced to work with Jones to try to collect the judgment. However, Barkett said Jones refused to press a bad faith claim against United, which began providing her with legal representation after the trial.

Legal filings allege that United secretly paid Jones $100,000 to broker a settlement with Aurora’s estate after the $20 million verdict was returned.

United settled with the estate and was dismissed from the case for $2.75 million.

Colony sued Aurora’s estate in federal court three months after the jury verdict. Colony’s suit claims that it had no duty to pay the $24 million judgment or defend Jones.

Barkett countersued both insurance companies, claiming that they acted in bad faith. He said as part of the deal to settle the United claim, Aurora’s estate had to agree to give Jones 25 percent of any money collected in the federal suit against Colony.

During discovery, Colony produced documents showing that its policy actually did cover the estate’s claims and that its legal exposure was large “due to the egregious facts of the case,” Barkett’s appeal states.

During settlement talks in federal court, “Jones and Colony abruptly broke away from the estate at an apparently pre-determined negotiation point, entered a separate room and literally locked the estate out,” Barkett’s appeal states.

“Inside, Jones and Colony brokered a collusive ‘settlement agreement’ for a fractional amount of the realistic damages exposure faced by Colony,” his appeal states.

Records show that Colony agreed to pay the estate $4 million to settle Jones’ claims in the federal suit, with about $1 million going to Jones and the rest to the estate, per her agreement.

However, the estate continued to try to collect the rest of the judgment in state court.

On Feb. 16, 2010, Frizzell entered a judgment in favor of Colony and against the estate. Frizzell also denied Barkett’s request to bring the issue before the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

In his appeal to the 10th Circuit, Barkett states: “This case could have far reaching effects for the good of the public. … A foster parent should not be able to profit from her own neglect by forcing the foster child’s estate to have to agree to her terms or else have no cause of action at all. The insurance company should not be permitted to make ‘backroom’ deals with the foster parent to discount its exposure and thwart the verdict of a jury.”
Ruling lets foster mom in whose care baby died collect $1 million

[Tulsa World 10/19/12 by Ziva Branstetter]

Ten Others That were Sued

RateMySocialWorkers.com states the names of those that were sued ” Thomas Key, Dulcie Owens, Audry Lyn Banks, Alicia Bullock, Donna Hendrix, Judy Lewis, Amy Donaldson, Michelle Barr, Kelly Johnson and Steve Scott.”

 

The case is outlined at More Law Lexapedia at this link: http://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?n=10-5035&s=OK&d=57687

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