Jury awards $130M in WA toddler’s ‘profoundly preventable’ death

A Pierce County jury ordered the state and a day care center to pay $130 million to the estate of a 2-year-old girl who was killed after Washington’s child welfare agency returned her to the care of her mother.

Lawyers for 2-year-old Sarai Brooks’ grandmother, who represented the estate in the lawsuit, believe the $130 million price tag is the highest returned by a Washington jury in a wrongful death case. A spokesperson for Attorney General Nick Brown said the office is verifying if that is correct.

Attorneys for the estate of the toddler, who died in 2022, argued the state was negligent in returning the child to her mother’s care after removing her and filing a dependency order. Sarai was killed by her mother’s boyfriend, who had been abusing the girl for two years.

The boyfriend, Augustino Maile, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter after initially being charged with murder. Sarai’s mother, Jharmaine Baker, pleaded down to assault of a child and criminal mistreatment. The jury determined that $10 million in damages should be paid by Maile and Baker.

Sarai initially came to the attention of the state Department of Children, Youth and Families in April 2021, when Seattle Children’s hospital staff reported to the state that Sarai was admitted with bruising, bite marks and burns on her body. The state removed Sarai from Baker’s care and placed her in shelter care. An investigation revealed Maile was abusing Sarai and Baker was aware, and Sarai’s siblings also had injuries.

DCYF officials began taking steps to declare Sarai a dependent of the state, and the court ordered that the children could begin a trial return home” with Baker in December 2021, provided there was no contact with Maile. The trial allowed the children to return to living with their mother with DCYF supervision, including unannounced visits. The court issued a no-contact order prohibiting Maile from contacting the family.

Despite this, numerous reporters told DCYF social workers that Maile and Brooks were still in a relationship, attorneys for the family alleged.

A social worker who conducted home visits reported she did not see bruising on the children, but said during a deposition that she made mistakes and could have done more during home visits, according to court documents.

In January 2022, two months before Sarai’s death, she began attending the School Kids’ Clubhouse, a day care in Puyallup run by Love and Laughter Learning Centers. Employees said during a deposition that she arrived at day care with injuries, including a black eye. Staff reported the injuries to the day care director, a mandatory reporter. However, no reports were made by the day care, plaintiffs alleged, until a week after her death.

Three days before Sarai died, the social worker visited the home but did not see Sarai, according to court documents. The social worker expressed concerns to her supervisor, according to court documents submitted by the state.

In March 2022, law enforcement officers were called to the home and found Sarai dead, covered in bruises, scars and marks.

A Pierce County sheriff’s detective said during a deposition that it was “the worst case of child abuse” she had seen, and told lawyers the only case that shocked her as much was the killing of Susan Powell’s two sons.

The state and day care providers “indifferently looked the other way,” plaintiff’s attorneys argued.

Attorneys for the day care argued that it followed corporate policies and state laws because employees “lacked reasonable cause” to suspect abuse and that Sarai’s injuries were minor. The day care was aware the children were subject to a dependency order.

The state argued the trial return-home order was issued by a court and Sarai’s death was caused by Baker and Maile’s intentional actions, not negligence by the state.

In a statement, DCYF said the agency will “evaluate our legal options” and remains dedicated to the safety and well-being of children.”

The jury ruled that 90% of the total fault lay with DCYF and 10% with the day care.

“The most painful part of this case is how profoundly preventable it was,” said Ray Dearie, an attorney for the family, in a news release. “All it took to save this child’s life was for one person to do their job: a call to a social worker, a report from a mandated reporter, or any attempt at follow-up by the state. Any one of those actions could have saved Sarai’s life.”