An Indiana couple is embroiled in a legal fight against the state’s Department of Child Services (DCS) and a local children’s hospital following the removal of their young children due to a misunderstanding over their infant’s injury, which was initially suspected to be child abuse.

Grant and Myranda Phillips have initiated a lawsuit against DCS and Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. They claim that their rights to due process were violated. According to the lawsuit, on December 26, 2022, Myranda took their 2-month-old daughter to the Riley emergency room after noticing swelling in the infant’s legs. The family had been gathering over the holidays, during which other children had handled the baby, the lawsuit mentions.

An X-ray revealed the infant had several fractures of varying ages, prompting doctors to alert DCS to potential child abuse. The lawsuit claims that DCS case manager Rachel Lucas consulted two child abuse specialists. One doctor allegedly misinformed Lucas, stating the infant had broken fibulas.

The doctor reportedly described the injuries as “highly suspicious of child abuse,” attributing them to significant blunt force, which supposedly could not have been caused by a child, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit points out that this doctor had not examined the baby in person but expressed immediate concern for her safety.

Medical staff who examined the child noted she exhibited blue sclera—a condition where the whites of the eyes appear blue, gray, or purple—potentially indicating brittle bone disease. The lawsuit alleges that further testing at the hospital would have identified Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder linked to increased fractures in children.

Rather than pursuing this line of inquiry, the lawsuit claims DCS and the consulted doctors concluded that child abuse had occurred. Consequently, two days after Christmas, DCS took custody of the infant and her 3-year-old sibling. The “preliminary inquiry” submitted to the Marion County Superior Court mistakenly mentioned broken fibulas, whereas the child actually had a tibia fracture, as the lawsuit highlights.

The Phillipses were deprived of their due process rights, the lawsuit stated.

“There was no proper investigation before they took our children,” Grant Phillips told the Indianapolis Star. “And it was an uphill battle in getting them back. We did all the services DCS asked to be unified, but they wouldn’t do it.”

Altogether, their kids were removed from the Phillips home for almost a year. The kids were returned after a fact-finding hearing determined DCS failed to prove the kids were abused or neglected.

“The judge railed against DCS after she dismissed our case,” Grant Phillips told the IndyStar. “She told them they were essentially ‘grasping at straws.’ They admitted during court proceedings that they were not making any efforts to unify our family. There was no accountability for this situation that came completely out of left field for us.”

Grant Phillips said DCS and the hospital need to be held accountable.

“They are literally ripping families apart,” he told local ABC affiliate WRTV.

In a filing responding to the lawsuit, DCS said it did nothing wrong and further denied that the plaintiffs are “entitled to any relief.”

DCS declined to comment on the specific allegation in a statement to the IndyStar.

“Indiana Department of Child Services family case managers are often put in challenging situations and must make difficult life or death decisions about child safety,” the statement said. “We appreciate the complexity of the decisions they must make and support them in keeping Hoosier children safe.”

Riley Hospital has not made a public comment about the lawsuit.