After 2-year-old's overdose death, family plans to sue state over DCFS failure
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BATON ROUGE - A law firm representing the father of a 2-year-old child who died after consuming fentanyl plans to sue the Department of Children and Family Services, which had reports of the child overdosing on the dangerous drug twice before his death.
In a letter sent Monday, lawyer Ron Haley said DCFS "has failed in its most fundamental, basic and necessary duty: ensuring toddlers do not die from known situations of appalling neglect."
The law firm held a news conference at Wednesday to discuss plans for legal action where Haley says the agency failed the family.
"The name of it is the Department of Children and Family Services. Where were the family services offered to the family? There weren't any and that can not happen again," Haley said.
He says Whitney Ard is also a victim in this case, and the agency holds responsibility in her child's death.
The WBRZ Investigative Unit previously reported 2-year-old Mitchell Robinson's death. Arrest documents for his mother, Whitney Ard, said Robinson had overdosed twice and had to be resuscitated with Narcan — a drug to treat opioid overdoses.
Documents said DCFS was notified both times Robinson was taken to the emergency room for an overdose and both times was returned back into his mother's care.