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Posted on Wed,
May. 18, 2005
Abused Florida
girl awarded $26 million
Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH,
Fla. - A jury has ordered Florida's child protection agency to pay
$26 million for failing to protect an abused girl who was once
beaten unconscious and is unable to eat, walk or talk clearly.
The adoptive
parents of 6-year-old Marissa Amora, who attended the trial in her
wheelchair, sued for lifetime medical care. The jury found that the
state Department of Children and Families was 75 percent to blame
for the botched child abuse investigation.
Marissa,
formerly named Moesha Sylencieux, was hospitalized as a toddler four
years ago because she couldn't walk. Tests found a tumor on her
spine as well as an unexplained broken collarbone.
An abuse
investigation was launched while the girl was still in the hospital,
but she was beaten unconscious and suffered severe brain damage less
than a month after her discharge, testimony showed.
Her mother's
boyfriend is the prime suspect, child protection officials said
during the trial, but he is believed to have fled to Haiti and has
not been charged.
Doctors who
specialize in child abuse later determined the mass on Marissa's
spine was the result of prior abuse.
The financial
award against the child protection agency may be largely symbolic.
State law limits judgments against public agencies to $200,000
unless lawmakers pass a special claims bill for a larger amount.
Department of
Children and Families spokeswoman Mary Jones said the agency had not
determined its next step.
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