DUCHESNE, Utah – A lawsuit has been filed against the Utah Child Protection Agency alleging negligence in the death of a two-year-old child in a foster family.
The lawsuit, filed last week in the 8th District Court, sets aside charges against Utah’s Child and Family Services Department, the Department of Human Services, and Lisa and Cody Vanderlinden. It follows Lisa Vanderlinden’s conviction last week for child molestation.
Shelby and David Call, the parents of two-year-old Lucas Call, sued for negligence and sought unspecified damages. Lucas Call was taken into care by the Vanderlindens in 2017. He died in 2018. The public prosecutor’s office first brought serious murder charges against Lisa Vanderlinden and accused her of abusing the boy so badly that he died. She eventually pleaded guilty to the murder of child molestation, a first degree crime, and admitted negligence in failing to provide medical care for Lucas.
Her sentencing to one year in prison and suspended last week stunned many, including Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes.
“It’s a travesty and undermines public confidence in the ability of our judicial system to protect children from abuse and murder,” he said in a statement criticizing the judge’s verdict.
In a tearful verdict, Vanderlinden apologized to the Call family, but denied molesting him.
“I didn’t hurt Lucas. I loved him very, very much and if I had known that more happened to his vomiting that night, I would have taken him to the doctor,” she said.
In the lawsuit of the call, they allege that DCFS agents ignored repeated reports in order to investigate abuse issues.
“Shelby reported her concerns about the abuse and her observations of Lucas’ injuries and fear of Mrs. Vanderlinden directly to the DCFS staff involved in the visits and team meetings, the DCFS office in Vernal Utah, and ultimately the DCFS headquarters in Salt Lake City, “says the lawsuit. “None of their reports to the case handlers or team meeting staff have been edited or investigated by supervisors at the local DCFS level.”
The lawsuit alleges that a DCFS agent raised concerns and directed them to supervisors who did nothing. It is said that Shelby Call continued to raise concerns about her son.
“On the last occasion Shelby reported her concerns to the local DCSF office in Vernal, that office threatened that they would take away their visitation rights to Lucas and his sister if she continued to report her abuse concerns,” it said the lawsuit.
In a statement accompanying the conviction of Vanderlinden last week, DCFS raised the litigation.
“Child safety is why we exist, and all infant deaths are a real heartbreak. We recognize the tragedy of this event and its impact on the child’s family, their community and our co-workers. Due to the pending legal disputes and the state law on client confidentiality, we are unfortunately unable to discuss any further details on this case. We trust the legal process and will work with the attorney general during this legal battle, “the agency said.
The Utah Attorney General, who represents state agencies in civil litigation, declined to comment on the litigation when contacted by FOX 13 on Monday. So did the Call family lawyer, Jacquelynn Carmichael.
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