Couple seek $12 million, alleging wrongful child-abuse accusation

A former Valley couple is seeking $12 million in damages from the Arizona Department of Child Safety and Phoenix Children’s Hospital for what they say was an incorrect diagnosis of child abuse that separated them from their newborn for nine months.

Honor Duvall and Donald Sankey allege in a mandatory notice filed with the state that DCS removed their baby boy from their care in March 2019 without a required court order and then pursued a flawed investigation based on questionable evidence.

That evidence includes a Phoenix Children’s trauma-team doctor who claimed the back of the baby’s eyes were “painted with blood” even though, the parents allege, he did not do a thorough eye exam, and a second opinion from an outside doctor did not find any bleeding.

Another doctor claimed the baby had a splint on his leg although there was no evidence of a broken or fractured bone, according to the notice. Yet another doctor mistook discolorations as bruises caused by abuse, even though the spots are a common type of birthmark in people with dark skin. The family is Black.

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office, as DCS’ legal representative, acknowledged it was served with the notice but declined comment. Hospital officials also would not comment, citing the pending litigation.

The filing indicates the couple intends to seek relief from the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, citing violations of the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress and abuse of process. That can happen after a 60day notice period expires in early July.

Duvall took her infant son to Phoenix Children’s Hospital in February 2019 when his appetite waned and his development slowed. The boy’s parents were mystified about what was ailing Swayde.

But DCS and the hospital’s trauma team were certain it was abuse — a claim that a juvenile court judge dismissed. Buckeye police concluded there was no criminal abuse.

In an interview, Duvall and Sankey said the ninemonth ordeal left them feeling powerless and confused.

“We had no control over anything,” Duvall said by phone from the family’s Oklahoma home. The couple moved back to Oklahoma after the Arizona case concluded.

“A part of me was, ‘there’s no way we won’t get him back because we didn’t do anything,’” said Duvall. “But seeing everything unfold, at the same time, I was like, ‘Wow, there’s a possibility they would believe all the things they were saying,’” referring to the conclusions of the Phoenix Children’s trauma team and DCS.

Sankey said he tried to remain hopeful. But the medical conclusions coming out of Phoenix Children’s rattled him.

Duvall, who is a licensed social worker, said they felt trapped in a broken system.

“It’s unconstitutional in that we were guilty until we could prove ourselves innocent,” she said.

The started couple said they seeking second opinions as soon as they left the hospital in February 2019. They were trying to sort out conflicting diagnoses from two teams of doctors at the hospital.

At Phoenix Children’s, Swayde was diagnosed with unexplained bruising, bleeding in both eyes, a fracture on his right leg and a wound in his mouth, according to the juvenile court record.

The orthopedic and neurological physicians found the injuries were accidental or a consequence of his difficult birth two months earlier. The baby had a coneshaped head after delivery, due to a prolonged stay in the birth canal. The first team of doctors didn’t find any reason to suspect abuse, according to the notice of claim.

But the trauma team did. The trauma team works with DCS and based on the team’s conclusions that the baby’s injuries were “non-accidental,” referred his case to DCS and local police.

Buckeye police investigated but closed their case without filing any charges of child abuse, records show.

DCS initially allowed Swayde to remain with his parents with a “safety monitor” to ensure the child was safe. But a day later, DCS changed course and separated the family.

Honor and Donald moved out of their house so Honor’s grandmother, who traveled from Oklahoma,

could live there with the baby. The couple moved in with Honor’s mother.

The couple was allowed two-hour, twiceweekly visits with Swayde at a DCS office. Honor was initially allowed to continue breastfeeding her son, but that was stopped after a month for unexplained reasons, according to the claim.

In March, less than two weeks after Duvall told doctors that during her visits she noticed the baby’s head swelling, DCS filed a petition with the juvenile court. It stated the parents had abused or failed to protect their child from abuse.

The

couple

said

they weren’t convinced race was a factor in their case. Sankey said when they attended supervised visits with their baby at DCS offices, they saw people of all kinds of backgrounds.

But minority children, and especially Black children, are disproportionately represented in child-welfare systems nationwide.

In Arizona, for every 1,000 Black children, 20.3 entered the foster system during the 11 months from July 2019 through May 2020, according to DCS records. For the overall child population, the figure was 5.3 per 1,000 kids.

The next-highest racial group was Native American children, who came into the system at a rate of eight per 1,000 Native children.

The couple’s complaint says DCS failed to get a court order to remove Swayde from his parents. State law requires such orders unless there are urgent circumstances that don’t allow DCS investigators to wait for a judge to review a petition to remove the child.

In their complaint, the parents note that the removal occurred while Swayde had been in the hospital — not with them — for two days to treat the swelling in his head.