Army Has No Legal Duty To Report Child Abuse???

[kval07]

Read this today at work and it angers me and totally boggles my mind. I wonder if I ever came across this guy. We were deployed with a unit from Schofield Barracks and I got to know a lot of those guys pretty well.

Attorney: Army Has No Legal Duty To Report Child Abuse

Schofield Barracks General Says Army Failed To Prevent Child's Death



HONOLULU --




An attorney for the U.S. Army argued in court on Thursday that Army officials have no legal duty to report child abuse to civilian authorities.
The attorney said the mother of a 5-year-old girl who was beaten to death at Schofield Barracks is not entitled to damages.
The commanding general has said that opportunities were missed that could have prevented Talia Williams' death. Army lawyers said the general fired Schofield Barracks' top child abuse official for not reporting what she knew.
However, the Army's lawyer said the Army should still not be held liable for their mistakes.
Williams died after months of beatings by her father, Army Spc. Naeem Williams, in their military apartment. The abuse was apparently encouraged by her stepmother, Delilah, who confided to Army coworkers that she whipped and beat Talia, officials said. The workers reported it to their boss.
"And she simply failed to report it to the proper agencies," said Mark Davis, the attorney for Talia Williams' mother, Tarshia Williams.
That was one of several missed opportunities to save Talia Williams, according to the investigation by Schofield commanding Gen. Benjamin Mixon. He found that several times over five months, Army social workers or military police failed to pass concerns about Williams' safety to the state Child Protective Services, an apparent violation of state law.
The Army's attorney argued in federal court that her family cannot sue the government.
"I don't think they had an obligation," Army lawyer Thomas Helper said.
Judge Alan Kay pointed out that the law considers them mandated reports of abuse.
However, Helper argued, "It's crucial to limit how far you are going to spread liability."
"That's the argument, and we thing that if a ruling like that were to come down it would simply gut the effectiveness of the entire child protection bureaucracy," Davis said.
If the Army's argument wins, even though the Army admitted its child protection rules were violated, Tarshia Williams will not receive damages for her daughter's death, Davis said.
"It's a system of fundamental accountability that holds them responsible to the victims that are harmed," he said.
Kay said he will rule later.
Meanwhile, Naeem Williams faces a murder trial that could lead to the death penalty. Delilah Williams pleaded guilty. She is serving 20 years in prison.


I don't know the law concerning this, but I really don't see how the Army can claim innocence on this. IMO the general was right on to fire the top child abuse official. What she did is unconscionable. Even worse is that military authorites knew about this and didn't do anything to that soldier. :sad:

[meggers]

That is just heartbreaking & horrible!

[tmsmalley]

You can't actually sue the Army for anything. Well, technically, you can sue, but you can't win. If you are a dependant and go to a military doctor and they commit flagrant malpractice, they can be sanctioned by the Army, but you won't get a settlement from the Army.

You can sue an individual, but they don't generally have a deep pocket so that doesn't get you very far.

Tess

[derketchup]

You can't actually sue the Army for anything. Well, technically, you can sue, but you can't win. If you are a dependant and go to a military doctor and they commit flagrant malpractice, they can be sanctioned by the Army, but you won't get a settlement from the Army.

You can sue an individual, but they don't generally have a deep pocket so that doesn't get you very far.

Tess

I know of one case where the Army was successfully sued for malpractice, although I admit it's a needle in a haystack.

That being said, lawyers will argue almost any loophole they find. That's why they're lawyers. It doesn't mean they're right. I hope the judge rules that the Army does indeed have an obligation to report child abuse.

[Mama Stu]

That just makes me sick. I can't believe nothing was reported.

My son was stationed at Schofield for three years, one of which he spent in Iraq, then to New York, back to Iraq, and now in Germany. I wonder if he knows any of those people.

[CW&M Mom]

I know of one case where the Army was successfully sued for malpractice, although I admit it's a needle in a haystack.

That being said, lawyers will argue almost any loophole they find. That's why they're lawyers. It doesn't mean they're right. I hope the judge rules that the Army does indeed have an obligation to report child abuse.

Has anyone been successfully sued for wrongful death...cause that's what needs to happen here.

[derketchup]

Has anyone been successfully sued for wrongful death...cause that's what needs to happen here.

It wasn't death but malpractice related to surgery, so I don't know if that's ever happened.

[tmsmalley]

Has anyone been successfully sued for wrongful death...cause that's what needs to happen here.

Again, you'd have to sue a specific person to have any kind of chance to win, versus "the army" as an entity. Has ANYONE, EVER been successful? I doubt it. Maybe the rare needle thing but certainly not something realistic.

Tess