Abused girl gets $1.5 million settlement from state

BY CHRISTINE CLARRIDGE | The Seattle Times A child who was sexually molested, burned with cigarettes and beaten with a spatula by her paternal grandparents will receive a $1.5 million settlement from two state agencies. Attorneys for the 14-year-old girl said the Department of Corrections (DOC) failed to supervise the girl’s grandfather, a convicted child molester, and the Department of … Read More

Woman blinded in clinic stabbing gets $5.5 million

By LEVI PULKKINEN | The Seattle PI A Seattle mental health provider has agreed to pay $6 million to settle two claims related to a vicious stabbing that left one worker blind, attorneys for the plaintiffs announced Thursday. Just after 8 a.m. on July 17, 2006, a woman entered the Downtown Public Health Center and, without warning, set upon employee Maritza … Read More

Woman sues state over sexual assault at detention center

By Christine Clarridge | The Seattle Times A 19-year-old who was sexually assaulted by a guard at a state juvenile-detention center last year has filed a lawsuit claiming the state failed to properly supervise the guard or protect her from his advances. In a lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court last month, the young woman’s attorneys claim the state … Read More

Teen inmate says state failed to stop guard’s sexual assault

By LEVI PULKKINEN | The Seattle PI A former inmate at Echo Glen Children’s School claims the state failed to stop the guard who sexually assaulted her. The lawsuit comes just days after the youth rehabilitation center settled a separate sexual harassment complaint filed by a former employee. In court documents, the young woman’s attorney argues that Echo Glen staff … Read More

Olympia Kiwanis Boys ranch draws another sex abuse lawsuit

By: Jeremy Pawloski | The News Tribune   Shut down in 1994: In filing against Kiwanis, state, man alleges abuse at group foster home A man who attended the defunct Olympia Kiwanis Boys Ranch has sued the Kiwanis Club of Olympia and the state, alleging that he suffered “mistreatment, sexual exploitation and deprivation of the most basic human needs” while … Read More

DSHS settles foster-care case for $2 million

The Seattle Times The state Department of Social and Health Services will pay $2 million to settle a lawsuit brought by two women who claimed they suffered years of physical and sexual abuse as children in a foster home while DSHS looked the other way. The women, identified in court papers as A.K. and K.M., claimed they were abused beginning … Read More

Danger in the Wrestling Room – by Jack Connelly & Micah LeBank

Trial News DANGER IN THE WRESTLING ROOM – OR RATHER THE CAFETERIA Modern Assumption of Risk in Washington Coaches must allow a reasonable amount of space during team drills. A wrestler landing on other wrestlers during team drills can and should always be avoided. By: John R. (“Jack”) Connelly and Micah R. LeBank No one expects to send their child … Read More

Attorney Jack Connelly to be appointed to Tacoma Library board

The News Tribune Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma has selected Jack Connelly to serve on the Tacoma Public Library Board of Trustees, replacing Bob Evans whose term expired. Connelly is a prominent personal injury attorney who has won many high-profile cases over the years, including a landmark racial discrimination lawsuit brought by two dozen families against the Puyallup School District. He … Read More