Lawsuit over ‘caging’ of child quickly rejected

In a case that took six years to get to trial and four weeks to argue, a jury Thursday took just two hours – including a lunch break – to rule against a woman seeking $4.1 million from the state, which forced her to stop putting her autistic child in a steel mesh cage.

Rhoda Behrens-Hoisington, who holds a master’s degree in developmental psychology, sued in 2000 after the autistic boy she adopted reportedly attacked her several months after a home inspection by Child Protective Services investigator Paul Thurik in March 2000.

During the inspection, Thurik discovered Behrens-Hoisington was using a 6-foot-tall, steel-mesh cage – which had a bucket for use as a toilet – to control her son’s outbursts.

Also living in the Nine Mile Falls home with two other developmentally disabled children were about 30 dogs, pot-bellied pigs, a goat and a turkey, which had the run of the bathroom, according to court testimony.

Thurik ordered Behrens-Hoisington to dismantle the steel-mesh cage, which her attorney, Paul Burns, referred to as a “safe room” at the trial. The agency left the child in the woman’s care without providing any options for controlling his outbursts.

Burns argued that removing the “safe room” caused the boy’s behavior to deteriorate to the point that he attacked Behrens-Hoisington twice in November and left her with brain damage.

Behrens-Hoisington sought $4.1 million to pay for past, present and future medical bills, loss of employment and ruining her quality of life. She had worked previously as a caregiver for disabled children placed in her home by the state.

“If the government is going to tell Ms. Behrens-Hoisington that she must change the way she cares for the child, then the government must bear some responsibility. Dismantling the safe room predictably escalated the behavior of the child,” Burns said.

But Assistant Attorney General Jerry Cartwright argued that Thurik was acting like any “right-thinking person” when he ordered that the cage be dismantled, and the government is unable to provide everything a child or family might need.

The trial, which was moved from Stevens County to Spokane, included testimony from several doctors about Behrens-Hoisington’s debilitating medical problems. However, a videotape was played to the jury showing Behrens-Hoisington pruning trees and driving in stakes with a sledge hammer.

When Burns totaled the damages he and his client were seeking, one member of the eight-man, four-woman jury rolled her eyes. The jury quickly sided with Cartwright, ruling against the negligence claims.

“The usual case involves the department being sued for either placing a child in an abusive home or – very rarely – removing a child from a non-abusive home,” Cartwright said. “In this particular case … it was basically the parents claiming that they were injured by the child, and the state was somehow responsible for that.”

He said he did not expect the jury to decide the case so soon. “I’m delighted,” Cartwright said.

Behrens-Hoisington, who has cared for a total of 22 developmentally disabled children in her home over the years, did not return to the courtroom for the verdict. Burns did not want to comment after the decision.

Cartwright added: “We take nothing away from Ms. Behrens-Hoisington for her commitment for caring for these children. She is a person who is committed to this and devoted to the children.”