Lawsuit: CT DCF-Athena Angeles case now Bittersweet Justice UPDATED

“Lawyers for the estate of child-abuse victim Athena Angeles are pressing the legislature to permit her father’s $20 million wrongful-death claim to proceed against the Department of Children and Families, noting the claims commissioner hasn’t acted since the request was filed 27 months ago.

Under the ancient “sovereign immunity” clause, the state is shielded from most claims of wrongdoing, even in the face of clear errors.

The claims commissioner – currently attorney J. Paul Vance Jr. – decides which lawsuits can go forward and which ones don’t – but he must take some action within two years or the legislature can decide to grant the office more time or rule on the request itself.

Lawyers Robert Reardon and Joseph Barnes, representing Hugo Angeles of North Carolina, filed a claim with Vance’s office on Oct. 12, 2012.

State Attorney General George Jepson countered with a motion to dismiss the claim on May 6, 2013. Vance has not issued any rulings in the case, according to the file.

Reardon and Barnes asked for the legislature to intervene in a Jan. 15 letter to state Sen. Eric D. Coleman, D-Bloomfield, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee.

Coleman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Following inquiries from The Courant, Vance said Wednesday through the office administrator that rulings on key motions in the case were “impending.”

Vance, former president of the Waterbury Board of Aldermen, was appointed in August 2011 by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Along with the letter to Coleman, Reardon provided a copy of the claim and a timeline suggesting that DCF had ample evidence and justification to remove both 3-year-old Athena and her older sister from the household before Athena’s death – but did not.

“This case has languished in the claims commissioner’s office for far too long,” Reardon wrote to Coleman. “The Angeles family has been waiting long enough to be granted their basic due-process rights to have their case heard in a court of law. Any further delay would be a grave disservice to this family.”

Among the documents filed with the claims commissioner is the DCF lead investigator’s log of four separate occasions in which she was told by Head Start workers that Athena showed up for school with new and serious injuries, including black eyes, a swollen face and bruising on her ears and nose.

“On 11/14/11, Head Start worker Nusie Halpine contacted this writer to inform that Athena had come to school with additional bruises, one was the size of a quarter on her left jaw line, her upper right lip had a scab, and a small bruise on her left nostril,” read one entry in the log.

The next entry reads, “On 11/15/11, Head Start Work Nusie Halpine contacted this writer stating that Athena had presented with more bruising. She stated that Athena had bruises on her ears and discoloration on the bridge of her nose.”

DCF’s internal investigation of Athena’s death states, “Bruising on the torso ear or neck in a child younger than or equal to 4 years old, like Athena, is another characteristic predictive of abuse.”

The log also notes a fifth occasion in which the DCF investigator personally observed bruises on Athena’s younger sister, and reported that Athena was crying and had vomited that day.

State Sen. Leonard Fasano, R-East Haven, the Senate minority leader, said Wednesday that he agreed with Reardon’s sentiment.

“As a state senator, I’m embarrassed by the facts leading to this child’s death. Some of these facts are almost uncontroverted. I have no idea why it is taking this long for the claims commissioner to act. Clearly, this litigant has the right to have this issue heard in court,” Fasano said.

Tuesday, Athena’s mother and the mother’s live-in boyfriend were sentenced in Danielson Superior Court in the beating death of the child.

Fredy Alexander Chingo Riz, 27, received a 29-year term on charges of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault, and risk of injury to a minor. Rosa Gladis Diaz-Mendez, 28, was given a six-year sentence on charges of risk of injury to a minor and issuing a false statement.

Reardon is asking that the judiciary committee rule favorably on his request and the full legislature approve a special act bypassing the claims commissioner and allowing the lawsuit to move forward.

Reardon and Barnes, of New London, have already filed a separate lawsuit against the hospital and the doctor who were involved in Athena’s care.

In his claim, Hugo Angeles charges that child-protection officials failed to remove Athena from the mother’s home despite overwhelming evidence of abuse.

Hugo Angeles has filed a separate $5 million claim on behalf of Athena’s older sister, Artemisa, who was also allegedly abused by her mother’s boyfriend.

A pediatrician reported injuries and bruising to Athena’s face to the state Department of Children and Families more than a month before her death, yet no action was taken to protect the child, according to the claim.

Athena was killed on Nov. 23, 2011, just hours after she was released from Windham Hospital. She had been treated for head cuts that required staples. Eighteen hours later, she was back at the hospital “with visible signs of trauma, bruising on her abdomen … and internal bleeding,” according to the claim. Police said that Riz punched the child repeatedly in the stomach and ribs.

The day after Athena’s mother’s arrest in June 2013, Joette Katz, the commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, announced new hospital guidelines that call for a review of all treatment records and a full-body examination when children are brought in with injuries..”

Lawmakers Pressed To Approve Lawsuit Against DCF In Child’s Abuse Death[Hartford Courant 1/21/15 by Josh Kovner]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:“Jury selection has begun in the first of two lawsuits arising from the beating death of 3-year-old Athena Angeles of Willimantic in November 2011, which remains one of the most bewildering child-abuse cases in recent memory.

Athena’s mother and the mother’s boyfriend have been convicted of manslaughter and are both in prison. Now, in civil court, the question is one of culpability on the part of professionals and agencies — namely Windham Hospital and the Department of Children and Families — tasked with responding properly to the many warning signs that popped up in the last days of Athena’s life. Both suits were brought by the child’s father.

The first trial is a malpractice case against two emergency-room doctors and Windham Hospital, where a bruised Athena was treated for a head injury and released back home to her mother — hours before the child was beaten to death by the mother’s live-in boyfriend, Fredy Alexander-Chingo Riz.

Though Athena had recently been in the emergency room for an injury from suspected child abuse, those records weren’t checked, Athena wasn’t kept at the hospital, and DCF wasn’t notified, according to court papers.

The second case, which will follow on the heels of the malpractice trial early next year, impugns the work of DCF and its commissioner, Joette Katz. Attorney Robert Reardon is seeking $20 million in the DCF case on behalf of Athena’s father, Hugo Angeles.

Katz recently announced she would not seek reappointment from Gov.-Elect Ned Lamont and will leave in January. Katz was appointed in January 2011 by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Athena’s case was Katz’s first major controversy.

Athena was squarely on DCF’s radar and was the subject of multiple hotline calls from pre-school teachers and clinic doctors reporting fresh injuries to Athena’s face in the weeks before she was beaten to death. Yet the boyfriend was never interviewed by DCF caseworkers and neither Athena nor younger sister Artemisa were removed from the home as a preventative measure, according to court papers citing DCF’s own records.

The mother, Rosa Diaz-Mendez, kept insisting that Athena was falling down in her room at home, but teachers at Athena’s Head Start program were so concerned that they began checking the home themselves, in the absence of action by DCF, the court papers state.

After Athena’s death, Katz’s comments focused on the hospital.

She was critical of what she said was Windham Hospital’s decision to release the child on the morning of Nov. 23 without a review of her medical history and a complete physical examination.

“We are not interested in pointing fingers,” Katz said in a June 23, 2012, story in The Courant. “We are focused on working together with our partners in the medical and private service provider communities to make improvements to how we collectively respond to children in situations such as these.”

Among the key court documents is a case log by DCF social worker Tammy Bailey, which includes notes of four separate occasions in which she was told by Head Start workers that Athena showed up for school with new and serious injuries, including black eyes, a swollen face, and bruising on her ears and nose.

“On 11/14/11, Head Start worker Nusie Halpine contacted this writer to inform that Athena had come to school with additional bruises, one was the size of a quarter on her left jaw line, her upper right lip had a scab, and a small bruise on her left nostril,” read one entry in Bailey’s log.

The next entry reads, “On 11/15/11, Head Start Work Nusie Halpine contacted this writer stating that Athena had presented with more bruising. She stated that Athena had bruises on her ears and discoloration on the bridge of her nose.”

DCF’s internal investigation of Athena’s death states, “Bruising on the torso ear or neck in a child younger than or equal to 4 years old, like Athena, is another characteristic predictive of abuse.”

Bailey’s log also notes a fifth occasion in which Bailey personally observed bruises on Athena’s younger sister, and reported that Athena was crying and had vomited that day.

The family advocate at Athena’s preschool program in Windham visited Athena and her mother at home in the days before Athena’s death and noted the child’s eyes “were both black, and her face was so swollen that Athena could barely open her eyes,” according to the arrest affidavit by state police detectives.

Riz, charged in November 2013 with manslaughter, felony assault and risk of injury to a minor, admitted to detectives that he punched and struck Athena several times when the child wouldn’t eat. After Athena’s death, her younger sister was examined and found to have bruises. She was placed in foster care.”

Child-abuse death of 3-year-old Athena Angeles coming to civil trials against hospital, DCF

[Hartford Courant 11/30/18 by Josh Kovner]

Update 2:“The state, faced with the expected testimony of child-protection experts and a social worker’s troubling case notes, has reached a $4.97 million settlement with the father of Athena Angeles, the 3-year-old Windham girl who was beaten to death in 2011 by her mother’s live-in boyfriend despite her bearing the black eyes and bruises of previous abuse and the warning calls of the staff at her pre-school.

The Department of Children and Families, one of the targets of the father’s $20 million wrongful death and malpractice claim, had never removed Athena or her younger sister from the home or interviewed the mother’s boyfriend in the weeks before Athena’s death. The case had repercussions across the state because Athena had been taken to Windham Hospital only hours before her death with head injuries from abuse, but was released after treatment without a mandated report to authorities. She would return to the hospital a short time later, but would not survive her fresh injuries.

The total settlement, which also resolves claims against Windham Hospital and two emergency-room doctors, was for $7 million, probate records show. The state’s portion must be approved by the legislature. Windham Hospital’share of the settlement is $1.780 million, and the federal government has a $250,000 share. One of the doctors worked in a clinic funded by a federal grant.

Robert Reardon, the New London lawyer who represents the father, Hugh Angeles of North Carolina, had no comment when reached Friday morning.

The trial in the case against the hospital and the doctors was to start Jan. 15, and the case against outgoing DCF Commissioner Joette Katz and her the department was to follow — but the settlement talks halted jury selection in the first trial.

After a settlement was reached, the parameters of the agreement, along with the approvals that are necessary to complete it and an acknowledgment of a non-disclosure clause between all of the parties to the cases, was read into the public court record.

Reardon had worked for several years to spring the case loose from the morass of the state claims commissioner’s office, where most prospective lawsuits that implicate the performance of state employees are filed initially. Reardon had to hire lobbyists to press legislators behind the scenes. Eventually the law was changed to prevent the claims commissioner from blocking cases in which a companion lawsuit has been filed in state Superior Court, as one had against Windham Hospital in Athena’s case. The reform is referred to by some as “Athena’s clause.”

Athena’s mother, Rosa Diaz-Mendez, and her boyfriend, Fredy Riz, have been convicted of manslaughter and are both in prison.

Athena was squarely on DCF’s radar and was the subject of multiple hotline calls from pre-school teachers and clinic doctors reporting fresh injuries to Athena’s face in the weeks before she was beaten to death. Yet Riz was never interviewed by DCF caseworkers and neither Athena nor younger sister, Artemisa, were removed from the home as a preventative measure, according to court papers citing DCF’s own records.

Among the key court documents was a case log by DCF social worker Tammy Bailey, which includes notes of four separate occasions in which she was told by Head Start workers that Athena showed up for school with new and serious injuries, including black eyes, a swollen face, and bruising on her ears and nose.

The family advocate at Athena’s preschool program in Windham had visited Athena and her mother at home in the days before Athena’s death and noted the child’s eyes “were both black, and her face was so swollen that Athena could barely open her eyes,” according to the arrest affidavit by state police detectives.

Riz, charged in November 2013 with manslaughter, felony assault and risk of injury to a minor, admitted to detectives that he punched and struck Athena several times when the child wouldn’t eat. After Athena’s death, her younger sister was examined and found to have bruises. She was placed in foster care.”
State settles before trial in Athena Angeles child-abuse death case

[Hartford Courant 1/9/19 by Josh Kovner]