Court revives child death case involving DCS

Court revives child death case involving DCS - WHNT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The parents of a 6-month-old Johnson City boy who died while being monitored by state social workers are getting another shot at making a wrongful death claim against the state of Tennessee.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals said this week there is a real question about whether the state Department of Children's Services could have foreseen the 2004 death of the child.



The infant, Demetrius Tyler, drowned the day after his DCS-approved caregiver was arrested for leaving him and two other children unattended.

It's not clear whether the state will appeal the decision.

In court documents, the parents claim they told a DCS social worker that the woman had been arrested but the agency did nothing.

The case now goes back to the Claims Commission.