LAKE WALES -- The parents of a boy who hanged himself using his own boot laces almost two years ago in a Bartow boot camp are expected today to file suit against the state, the Department of Juvenile Justice, Polk Sheriff Lawrence Crow Jr. and Inphynet Hospital Services, claiming the defendants failed to do their jobs.
Joseph and Mylinda Franza of Okeechobee will seek compensatory damages plus legal costs, records state. No figure is mentioned in the legal complaint composed by the pair's attorney, Howard I. Kay of the law offices of Kent Lilly in Lake Wales. The suit states the Franzas are seeking damages for the "loss of (their son's) companionship and protection, mental pain and suffering from the date of (their) son's death," and "medical and funeral expenses due to (their son's) injury and death."
"A lot was not done that could have been," Joseph Franza said late Monday. "It's still painful for us to talk about."
The Franzas have three other children.
The couple work for the state Department of Corrections, Kay said Friday.
A "suicide risk screening instrument" regarding Chad Franza was done by the Juvenile Assessment Center run by the (Department of Juvenile Justice), but the case manager completing the form, who was a DJJ employee, never filled out a section entitled "Case Manager Interview of the Child," the lawsuit alleges. That section determined whether the 16-year-old Franza boy would be placed on a close watch and referred for a suicide risk assessment within 24 hours.
In another section of the screening instrument document, though, one entitled "Case Manager Interview of Parent/Guardian or Relative and CYF Counselor," the case worker noted that Chad Franza had threatened to kill himself several times. The worker's answer meant the boy was to be watched closely, and that he was to be assessed within 24 hours. According to the lawsuit, Chad Franza was never placed on close watch, nor was he referred for suicide risk assessment. Not only did DJJ fail to assess the boy within the next day, however, they never assessed him at all, Kay states in the complaint. In other sections of the suit, the lawyer points out that "Suicide Risk Assessment Results" were never filled in by DJJ.
Because of the allegations above, "The State of Florida, by and through its employees, agents and/or subcontractors, negligently breached its duty to Chad Andrew Franza," the suit states.
Next, the Franzas' attorney takes aim at Crow: "The SHERIFF owed a duty to Chad Andrew Franza to use reasonable care in providing him a reasonably safe environment and to use reasonable care for his physical and mental well-being and safety. The SHERIFF ... negligently breached his duty to Chad Andrew Franza."
Kay states that the "breaches" included failing to review the boy's file, which noted the suicide threats, failing to maintain the required staff-to-inmate ratio, failing to make rounds of Chad Franza's area more than once an hour, allowing him to cover his room's window with cardboard each night so no one could see in and restricting contact between parents and recruits, especially during the early period of the boot camp.
Allegations the suit makes against InPhyNet Hospital Services, Inc. include failing to: provide for the teen-ager's overall well-being, provide a psychological profile evaluation, provide a review of Chad Franza's medical record and provide a safe environment for him.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office death investigation when the incident occurred stated the boot camp staff followed proper procedure. Crow could not be reached for comment late Monday, and the Polk County Sheriff's Office was closed.
