$2 million suit says state lost evidence, didn’t train workers

A $2 million lawsuit filed last June by the father of Karly Sheehan against the Oregon Department of Human Services was scheduled Monday for a jury trial starting Sept. 15.

David Sheehan of Corvallis claims in the civil lawsuit that the Department of Human Services, the state agency responsible for investigating child abuse cases, contributed to the June 3, 2005, death of three-year-old Karly by failing to follow up on abuse complaints, losing photographic evidence, failing to have her examined by a medical professional and failing to properly train workers.

In its response to the lawsuit, the state, which is represented by the Attorney General’s Office, listed Karly’s mother and her then boyfriend, Shawn Field, as third-party defendants, essentially attributing fault in Karly’s death to the two.

Field, 36, was sentenced in Benton County Circuit Court to 46 years and five months in prison in November of 2006 for the beating death of the three-year-old girl.

The state denied responsibility for Karly’s death in court documents and went one further in its written defense.

“The damages alleged by (David Sheehan) were the direct and proximate result of his own negligence in failing to report to the state facts he knew about Karly Sheehan’s condition,” James Smith, senior assistant attorney general, wrote to the court in response to Sheehan’s lawsuit.

David Sheehan’s attorney, James Nelson of Albany, declined to comment about the case.

Sarah Sheehan, Karly’s mother, was later dropped from the lawsuit by the court.

Field is fighting the lawsuit from his prison cell in Pendleton.

Although Field was found directly responsible for Karly’s death, questions about the Department of Human Services arose during the criminal trial.

After Field’s sentencing, Judge Janet Holcomb cited a “continuum of failure” in the response to what appeared to be eight months of abuse of the child at Field’s hands.

As a result of the case, “Karly’s Law” was enacted in May 2007, tightening requirements for investigation of potential child abuse cases.