SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A Spartanburg County family has been awarded $3.75 million after a jury found that the South Carolina Department of Social Services failed to investigate multiple reports that the child was in danger.
According to the press release from the firm that brought the lawsuit, the grandmother called SC DSS multiple times to voice her concern that the 21-month-old baby girl was in danger while living with her mother and the mother’s live-in boyfriend.
The grandmother was worried the child was being abused and neglected, and complained to DSS twice over the phone and once in person. The relative reported that the mother’s boyfriend, Robert Steadman, had a domestic violence record and the mother and the boyfriend were accused of using drugs, according to the lawsuit.
Despite the woman’s multiple pleas to look into the matter, the SC DSS failed to investigate at all.
A press release says the baby was attacked by the mother’s boyfriend a few weeks later.
“He hit the toddler in the face, bit her multiple times on her back and buttocks, broke both her arms and her right leg and ripped out large chunks of her hair. She did not receive medical attention until the next day. She was hospitalized for several days in the intensive care unit. She also tested positive for cocaine at the hospital,” said the press release from attorney Heather Hite Stone.
During the trial, the victim’s orthopedic surgeon testified the baby’s bone breaks occurred over a period of a few weeks, signaling to the doctor that the abuse has been “ongoing and chronic.”
The lawsuit says Steadman was arrested and admitted to felony child abuse and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
The jury awarded the grandmother $3.75 million, but the damages will be reduced because of the South Carolina Tort Claims Act that caps judgments against the state.
“Had SCDSS investigated this matter they could have prevented the abuse that this poor baby had to suffer. We are pleased that the jury stood up for this child,” said Stone.
