CHICAGO — The father of a 17-month-old found dead under a couch in Joliet in 2017 is suing social aid agency Children's Home & Aid Society of Illinois and the child's mother over the child's death.
James Crosby filed a complaint on Aug. 21 in Cook County Circuit Court, against the defendants alleging they should be held liable for the death of Sema'j Crosby.
Sema'j Crosby was found dead under the couch in the living room of an apartment in southwest suburban Joliet Township on on April 27, 2017. The coroner classified the child's death as homicide by asphyxia.
Consequently, plaintiff suffered the loss of society of the child, the lawsuit alleges.
The plaintiff alleges Children's Home & Aid Society of Illinois failed to prevent the child's death by not properly supervising the child, assigning too many cases to its caseworkers, failing to report and identify the unsafe and unsanitary conditions of child's home, and failing to provide proper training to caseworkers
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against defendants in excess of the jurisdictional limit. He is represented by Jay Paul Deratany of The Deratany Firm in Chicago.
Cook County Circuit Court Case number 18-L-9035