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Seattle, Washington, January 28, 2004 (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER) – The state is appealing a ruling that held it liable for the assault of a 20-year-old Somali refugee by three teenage boys who had been living in a crowded foster home.
A King County Superior Court jury awarded Said Aba Sheikh $8.8 million in November, finding that the state Department of Social and Health Services was partly to blame for leaving the teens in the same home despite their violent behavior.
Aba Sheikh suffered permanent brain damage when he was beaten outside a West Seattle gas station in March 1999.
DSHS officials argued that the state's duty was to protect the foster children, not to protect people from them or to prevent crime.
The state currently is responsible for paying Aba Sheikh about $8.3 million because of expenses already covered by Medicaid.
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