Police & Courts Washington state lawsuit payouts skyrocket to more than $500M in past year
For years, foster parents in Eatonville, Washington, abused five girls, but the girls couldn’t hold the state accountable for wrongfully placing them in the home and failing to protect them while they lived there.
That was, until a landmark ruling in their case in 2018 expanded the state’s responsibility beyond the period when officials have custody of foster children.
In the years since, the decision has provided a path for numerous people wronged by the foster care system to seek justice.
It’s also part of what’s contributed to a sharp rise in the state paying out huge sums of money in response to a deluge of lawsuits alleging a range of misconduct. Washington state taxpayers have covered about half a billion dollars in legal claims in the past year alone.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/06/17/washington-state-lawsuit-payouts-skyrocket-to-more-than-500m-in-past-year/