The Arizona Supreme Court is considering whether the statutory duty to report child abuse or neglect includes the responsibility of mandated reporters to also warn of a future risk of harm after hearing oral arguments last week in a wrongful death suit against a mental health agency.
The lawsuit was brought by Samuel Avitia, the father of infant twins who were killed by their mother, identified by the initials ML, against Crisis Preparation and Recovery, Inc., and other health care providers. Among his claims, Avitia claimed that Crisis Preparation Recovery had a statutory duty to report ML’s suspected abuse or neglect of the twins when its counselors had evaluated her on different occasions, according to the court’s oral argument case summary.
