Couple wrongfully accused of child death settles for $31M

[FINN]

I know it's been a long time since I've posted. Everything is still here as far as I know so you can look at where we came from and where we are now. I hope many are encouraged by this and consider this a personal victory for all of us that have been in the ring with CPS.

http://indianalawblog.com/archives/2015 ... oup_1.html

HAMMOND | A federal jury in Hammond on Tuesday awarded more than $31 million to a Knox family who sued five DCS officers, an Indiana State Police detective and a doctor after the parents were wrongfully accused of causing their daughter's death.

Roman and Lynnette Finnegan were awarded the verdict after a three-week trial in U.S. District Court, said Richard Waples, one of the family's attorneys.

The Finnegans' 14-year-old daughter, Jessica, was found dead in their Francesville, Ind., home in 2005. The Indiana Department of Child Services and Indiana State Police suspected the Finnegans caused Jessica's death and ultimately took custody of the couple's three other children and arrested the Finnegans, Waples said.

It was later determined that Jessica, who had a congenital heart defect and suffered from seizure disorder, died as a result of a medication error by her family doctor, Waples said. The doctor had prescribed too much warfarin, which caused hemorrhages in Jessica's brain, court records state.

The defendants in the case included Laurel Myers, Regina McAninch, Tracy Salyers and Reba James, all DCS employees, former DCS Director James Payne, Indiana State Police Detective Jennifer McDonald and Antoinette Laskey, a pediatrician who was employed at Riley Hospital for Children.

[LindaJM]

I am so happy... this should encourage every family faced with false accusations to find a way to file a lawsuit. You deserve every bit of this - I know it will help you and your other children to recover from the misery and losses they put you through. This is a very happy day for families fighting CPS injustice.

And I'm so sorry about the death of your daughter and all the grief you've been dealing with throughout this CPS ordeal.

[FINN]

Thanks. I'm glad I could come here after all these years and share this victory with other fighting this system.