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Shocking case of mistreatment: Civil proceedings against Lower Austrian youth welfare services are underway!
Civil trial in Krems about the mistreatment of a boy from Lower Austria: lawsuit against the state for failing to take protective measures.
Shocking case of mistreatment: Civil proceedings against Lower Austrian youth welfare services are underway!
The Krems regional court is focusing on a civil case that deals with a serious case of abuse involving a 15-year-old boy from the Waldviertel. The plaintiff, represented by his lawyer Timo Ruisinger, is demanding compensation totaling 180,000 euros. This consists of 150,000 euros in compensation for pain and suffering and 30,000 euros for future claims for damages. The lawsuit is based on the Lower Austrian Child and Youth Welfare Act, whereby the state of Lower Austria is responsible as the provider of child and youth welfare. The allegations are alarming: the boy is said to have been locked in a dog crate and tortured as part of mistreatment. This reports 5min.
At the center of the proceedings are two social workers from the Waidhofen an der Thaya district administration who have to answer for possible breaches of duty. Despite warning signals from school and clinic, unannounced home visits took place between October and November 2022. However, the state of Lower Austria denies having breached the duty of care and claims to have complied with all legal requirements. The boy's father, who last saw his son in May 2022, criticized the lack of information from youth welfare services and reported on his child's physical health before the incident. He was only informed of the situation shortly before his son was admitted to the hospital. This difficult situation also has an impact on the current living conditions: the young person is now living with his father again.
Serious abuse and legal consequences
On November 22, 2022, the boy was taken to hospital in acute danger to his life with a body temperature as low as 26.8 degrees. Evidence of mistreatment had already been significant. The boy's mother and her girlfriend at the time were sentenced in criminal proceedings: the mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempted murder and abuse, and the girlfriend was sentenced to 14 years. The verdicts are legally binding and illustrate the seriousness of the crimes that a well-known social worker could have prevented under certain circumstances. Nevertheless, a criminal investigation against the social workers was discontinued in March 2023 meinkreis.at reported.
The issue of child abuse poses enormous challenges not only to the children affected, but also to society as a whole. Doctors working in the fields of pediatrics, child and adolescent psychiatry and other disciplines are repeatedly confronted with cases of abuse, neglect and violence. This highlights the need for a functioning child protection structure and the importance of institutional responsibility in the care and support of vulnerable children, such as bundesaerztekammer.de highlights. Dealing with such cases requires not only legal, but also medical and social expertise to ensure that children are protected in their development.