May 05--The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $450,000 payout to the father of a 2-year-old boy who was killed by his mother's boyfriend in 2011 despite repeated calls to county social workers about ongoing abuse.
The payment settles a wrongful death complaint filed by the father of Gabriel Dominguez. The complaint alleged that the Department of Children and Family Services social worker assigned to investigate Gabriel's case falsified his report to say that the boy was healthy and safe at the same time that bruises covered his face. The case was closed on Feb. 28, 2011.
Days later, on March 3, 2011, Gabriel was killed by Daniel Vega, who pummeled the boy with more than 50 blows in their Lomita home, lacerating his intestines and liver.
Vega had been the subject of repeated calls to the county's child abuse hotline and was later sentenced to 56 years in prison for the murder.
The DCFS caseworker who investigated the case, Daniel Medina, "lied and fabricated evidence when he reported that he saw Gabriel on 2/18/11 and that Gabriel had no marks or bruises," according to the father's civil complaint.
In reality, Gabriel had visible bruising over much of his face at the time and did not see Medina that day, the boy's father, Robert Dominguez, alleged in his suit.
Medina did not determine that Vega, who had a history of criminal violence, was living in the home at the time despite men's clothing and witness accounts, the suit alleged.
Medina did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a letter from the DCFS to the supervisors recommending the settlement, officials said they had spent $230,000 on legal fees fighting the case.
The letter did not say if Medina was still working for the department, and spokesman Armand Montiel was not immediately able to respond to a request for information about his employment status.
A wrongful death complaint is still pending against the Los Angeles Unified School District because the father says a school nurse also failed to appropriately assess evidence of abuse before Gabriel's death.
