Lawsuits filed against Illinois DCFS, Springfield employees after baby taken from family

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two lawsuits involving Illinois Department of Children and Family Services have been filed.

They involve a baby who was taken away from his family at 3 months old.

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One suit is against DCFS, and one is against four of the agency's employees based out of Springfield. The suit alleges that they knowingly kept an infant away from his family for three months, even when they knew nearly from the beginning that no abuse had occurred.

At the request of his parents, ABC7 Chicago blurred the child's face and will refer to him only as G.L.

He's now a happy and healthy 21-month-old boy.

"He's doing amazing. He's doing great. He's a smart little boy," father Victor Lucha said.

In his short life, G.L has been through a lot.

In July of last year, he was taken away from his mother, after she took him to the doctor's office to check up on a burn located on his upper arm.

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Unable to speak English and with no interpreter provided for her, her attorneys say she was unable to properly answer the questions that were being asked.

"Due to the communication breakdown, the baby was immediately taken from her, right then and there at the doctor's office," said Allison West, an attorney with Hale & Monico.

The family's attorneys shared photos taken by DCFS on the day of G.L's removal. They show not just the burn, but marks on his leg.

It was those marks that they say led the family's primary physician to call DCFS. Up to that point, attorneys agree the call was appropriate. What led them to file the lawsuits against both the agency and the individuals involved in his case was what happened next.

"DCFS knew within 24 hours by their own medical experts that G.L. did not have any injuries as a result of neglect or abuse. In fact, they were told that the spots on his leg were common to the Hispanic population," family attorney Michelle Coady Carter said.

Three months and five foster homes later, G.L. was returned to his parents. According to the lawsuits, a few months after that, DCFS dismissed their investigation against both parents.

"I can't find words to explain the feeling we went through, that period of time that we didn't have him, especially we didn't do anything wrong," Lucha said.

Attorneys are asking DCFS for $2 million in damages.

DCFS said it does not comment on pending litigation.