Trying to Find the Light. Oregon Pays $4.95 Million in Devastating Child Abuse Involving The State's Inaction.

This case is one of the most harrowing child abuse tragedies in Oregon’s recent history — a gut-wrenching example of how systemic failures can allow horrific abuse to continue in plain sight, despite repeated warnings and desperate cries for help.

Three young siblings — just 5, 5, and 7 years old when the nightmare began — were subjected to five years of relentless torture by their great-aunt, Merlinda Avalos. They were starved, beaten, humiliated, and isolated, forced to sleep naked on bare mattresses in the cold, urinate in plastic bottles, wear urine-soaked clothes to school, and suffer abuse so cruel it defies belief: mouths duct-taped shut, tacks taped to bunk beds to prevent them from moving, shot in the back with a BB gun. A child was so afraid of her abuser finding out she changed into clean clothes at school, she would break down in tears.

Over the course of those five years, teachers, neighbors, and counselors made at least 20 reports to Oregon’s Department of Human Services Child Abuse Screening Hotline and to 911. These were not vague suspicions — they included reports of visible bruises, starvation, children locked outside in the rain, and terrifying first-hand disclosures from the children themselves.

Again and again, DHS CPS failed. Caseworkers dismissed the complaints as “unfounded.” They failed to follow their own policies. They didn’t take photos of injuries, failed to seek medical evaluations, and shockingly included Avalos — the known abuser — in a so-called “safety plan.” The reports were ignored. The children were left to suffer.

Finally, in April 2018, police intervened after one child made yet another disclosure. Investigators found extensive evidence of abuse, and Avalos was arrested and later sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. But by then, the damage was already done.

In 2024, nearly six years after being removed from Avalos’ home, the State of Oregon agreed to pay $4.95 million to the three children — a rare acknowledgment of responsibility in a case where the state’s inaction was both devastating and inexcusable.

But the tragedy did not end there.

Shortly after learning of the settlement, the eldest child — now 18 years old — died by suicide. His death is a painful reminder that trauma does not end when abuse stops. It lingers, destroys, and too often, claims lives long after the fact and has a rippling affect on those that were close to him..

This incredible $4,950,000 settlement— while significant — is overshadowed by the irreversible toll this abuse has taken. No amount of money can restore what these children lost: their safety, their childhood, and their brother.

Yet even in the face of such overwhelming tragedy, there was a hard-fought measure of justice. Attorneys Jeremiah V. Ross and two other lawyers refused to let the state walk away from its responsibility. They battled against dismissal, navigated complex legal barriers, and ultimately held DHS accountable for failing to act when it mattered most.

While nothing can undo what happened, we hope this outcome will not only provide some stability for the surviving siblings, but also serve as a call to action: Oregon must do better.

No child should have to suffer this way. No system should ever ignore this much pain. And no survivor should have to fight this hard for justice.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by child abuse or by government failure to protect, Ross Law and Oregon Attorney Jeremiah V. Ross will stand with you. We will listen. We will fight. And we will not let tragedy be ignored.

How Much Time Do You Have to File a Lawsuit in an Oregon Child Abuse Case?

At Ross Law, we are committed to holding abusers — and those who enable abuse — accountable. Many of our clients are survivors of childhood abuse, and we understand that the trauma caused by abuse can take years, even decades, to fully process and connect to the lifelong harm it caused. Fortunately, Oregon law (ORS 12.117) recognizes this reality and gives survivors meaningful time to come forward and pursue justice in civil court.

Under Oregon law, survivors of child abuse have until age 40 to file a lawsuit against their abuser or anyone who knowingly allowed, encouraged, or permitted the abuse to happen. If the survivor did not discover — and reasonably could not have discovered — the connection between the abuse and their injury until later in life, then the survivor has five years from the date of discovery to file a claim. The law applies whichever period is longer.

Importantly, this rule applies regardless of other time limits found in Oregon’s personal injury statutes. That means even if the general deadline to file a personal injury case has expired, a claim based on child abuse may still be valid if brought under this specific law.

ORS 12.117 defines “child abuse” broadly to include:

• Physical or mental injury caused by intentional cruelty.

• Sexual abuse or exploitation, including rape, incest, sodomy, and using a child in pornography or prostitution.

• Encouraging or allowing a child to be exploited sexually.

This law does not create new causes of action, but it extends the time for survivors to hold abusers and institutions accountable and provide compensation for survivors in Civil court.

At Ross Law PDX, we’ve proudly represented victims of child abuse in seeking compensation and justice for the unimaginable harms they’ve suffered. Ross Law PDX represents children all over the State of Oregon who have suffered abuse while they were students of the abuser, in the legal custody of DHS CPS, OYA, or in Foster Care. Ross Law has also represented children who were abused by their parents, step parent, mother or father. If you or someone you care about is a survivor of abuse, we are here to listen, advise, and fight for your rights. Please call Attorney Jeremiah Ross at 503.224.1658.

Please remember that there may be other statutes and laws, such as the Oregon Tort Claims Act, that are involved when a Statute of Limitations issue is embedded in the case. Please also remember that the law is constantly changing and this blog article may not be up to date. This blog article is not legal advice and refers to the cases and statutes regarding child abuse and the tolling of the statute of limitations in Civil cases.

Oregon's DHS Disregarding Obligations in Deadly Child Medical Neglect Cases

Oregon lawmakers are pushing back against the Department of Human Services (DHS) Child Protective Services for what they see as a misinterpretation of state law—one that could undermine accountability in the child welfare system. The controversy centers on how DHS determines when to launch a Critical Incident Review (CIR) after a child dies in a household where a prior concern has been reported.

Under Oregon law, a CIR must be conducted when a child dies of suspected abuse or neglect, and the household was previously reported to the state for a suspected abuse concern within the past 12 months. However, Oregon’s DHS has taken a narrower view, saying it only initiates reviews when the initial report met the agency’s own threshold for an "abuse" allegation. Reports that DHS "screens out"—such as those involving children who are sick or lacking emergency contacts—are not counted as abuse concerns, even if they indicate potential risks. DHS’s interpretation permits it to put on legal blinders when addressing its failures to protect medically fragile children.

This interpretation came under fire after DHS failed to conduct a CIR following a child's death in a foster home, despite a prior hotline report about the household. When another child in the same home died a month later, the agency did conduct a review, revealing the earlier case and prompting scrutiny from lawmakers like Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin. She argues that DHS is sidestepping the law’s intent, which is to ensure a review whenever there’s been any prior report of suspected abuse or neglect—whether or not the agency agrees it meets the legal threshold for "abuse."

According to Oregonlive, Gelser Blouin has introduced an amendment to clarify the statute, adding the word “suspected” to make clear that DHS must launch a review whenever there’s a prior report of concern, not just when the agency decides to act on it. The amendment passed the Senate Human Services Committee last week, highlighting the legislature’s frustration with DHS’s approach.

DHS maintains it is following existing protocols and not seeking to reduce the number of reviews. But legislative attorneys disagree, and the proposed amendment underscores the tension between the agency and lawmakers over how Oregon protects vulnerable children.

Senator Blouin’s efforts are critical to ensuring that DHS holds itself accountable, learns from past mistakes, and improves its practices to better protect children. At Ross Law, we are dedicated to helping families when DHS fails in its duty—especially when those failures result in the injury or death of a child. This includes when medically fragile children do not receive the care they need and deserve, and we stand up for families when DHS’s inaction leads to preventable tragedies. If you or someone you know was abused or neglected as a result of Oregon’s DHS’s inaction, please call Oregon lawyer Jeremiah Ross and Ross Law PDX at 503.224.1658 to discuss your options.

Tragic Number of Kids on Oregon DHS's Radar Die in 2025

Over the years, Ross Law has had great success in representing the interests of children who have been harmed, neglected, abused, or killed as a result of Oregon’s DHS and CPS’s failures. Despite holding the State accountable in these cases, it appears the system is still failing too many children.

OregonLive reported that in the first three months of 2025, ten children known to Oregon's Department of Human Services (DHS) died, prompting state investigations. This marks an increase from two deaths during the same period in 2024 and five in 2023. Though none of the children were in foster care, half were involved in active abuse investigations, and the others lived in households that DHS had previously checked on.

The deaths include five infants and toddlers—four of whom may have died due to unsafe sleep conditions while a parent or guardian was under the influence of marijuana—and five adolescents, including four teens who died within six days of each other in mid-February. The teen deaths were unrelated, but the number has raised concern among advocates, as adolescents now make up a larger share of fatalities than in past years.

Ross Law and attorney Jeremah Ross are dedicated to using the civil justice system to hold the State accountable for its failures that result in the tragic death, abuse, or neglect of children. If you or someone you know believe that Oregon’s DHS/CPS failed a child and the child was harmed and killed as a result, then please call 503.224.1658 to speak wth attorney Jeremah Ross.

Please note that all cases are different and that this article is for informational purposes only and is not to be considered legal advice. If you have questions about a potential case against the State of Oregon’s DHS or CPS then please call an attorney and do not rely solely on this post.