Couple sues doctors, Indiana DCS after daughters with genetic disorder were taken

When 2-month-old daughter Nara’s leg was swollen, Myranda Phillips did what most parents would do: She took the baby to Riley Children’s Health in Indiana.

“It was hot to the touch,” Myranda Phillips told IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network. “She wasn’t confused at all, but I was changing her diaper when I noticed. I was calling and asking other parents we know for advice, and finally I decided to take her.”

She and her husband, Grant Phillips, had no idea the decision would take them on an emotional roller coaster of a year with the Indiana Department of Children Services (DCS). They are accused of abuse by both medical professionals and DCS caseworkers. Their two daughters, who were under three at the time, were going to be taken.

The couple strongly deny the allegations and say that it was only after they obtained a medical diagnosis confirming that their children have a genetic disorder that a judge would dismiss the case against the couple.

The parents are now suing DCS case managers and supervisors, along with two pediatric child abuse doctors with IU Health, which oversees Riley Health, in a federal lawsuit for wrongly accusing them of child abuse.

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

It would be 347 days before their two girls, Odessa and Nara, would be returned to their parents, who had missed the multiple stages of their youngest daughter’s first year of life.

In a statement to IndyStar, DCS said it could not provide comment on current court proceedings involving a child.

“However, Indiana Department of Children Services family case managers are often placed in challenging situations and must make difficult life-or-death decisions regarding the safety of children,” DCS said in a statement. “We appreciate the complexity of the decisions they must make and support them in keeping Hoosier children safe.”

The statement is identical to one provided to IndyStar after a lawsuit was filed in the death of 5-year-old Kinsley Welty. The family in that case alleges that DCS failed on several occasions to notice her abuse and closed cases involving the girl without thorough investigation.

IndyStar reached out to Riley Children’s Health about the lawsuit, but has not heard back from the hospital.

Nara Phillips was taken to Riley Children’s Health

In December 2022 the couple had just spent a few days with family for the holidays. Then, the day after Christmas, Myranda Phillips took Nara to Riley Children’s Health on her swollen feet.

Medical staff diagnosed Nara with a broken leg after taking x-rays, according to court documents, which also stated that staff were concerned the injuries were the result of abuse.

The lawsuit says Riley took pictures of Nara, which showed multiple fractures in different stages of healing in her leg.

Staff contacted DCS, and a caseworker came to the hospital to speak with Myranda Phillips. The mother explained that she and her husband had been with the family in the last few days and they did not know when Nara could have been injured.

“I told them it was around different people since we were around a lot of family for the holidays,” Myranda Phillips said. “I don’t suspect anyone in our family of harming our children, but they’ve been around more than us.”

The caseworker then spoke with two pediatric child abuse experts over the phone, who the parents said had never personally treated Nara.

While on the phone, one of the doctors said that Nara had a broken fibula. The doctor said that the violations were “highly suspicious” of child abuse, and she had immediate concerns.

But according to the lawsuit, Nara never had a broken fibula.

“The only active break was the tibia, which was causing the symptoms,” Grant Phillips said. “Our experts have since said that the others are more likely bone mineralization deposits and radiographic anomalies related to EDS and its iron deficiency. That is, they misread the X-rays, they misinterpreted them.”

The pediatric child abuse expert told DCS that Nara had fibula fractures in both legs, according to the lawsuit.

They were later found not to exist, according to Phillips, who said they also stated that his daughter had a broken collarbone and broken leg.

“In total, we initially diagnosed nine violations, and by the time we went to court, that number was down to four violations,” Phillips said. “With no explanation as to what happened to the other five or why they were removed from her record.”

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The Riley Children’s Health Child Protection Program, which is central to the case, is a group of board-certified child abuse pediatricians who are consulted to examine a child to make a medical diagnosis for a bruise or injury. The team told IndyStar back in January that it monitors 6,000 potential child abuse cases a year from across the state. That number is also explained in the lawsuit filed by the couple.

Independent tests by the family’s doctors revealed that Nara actually had a genetic disorder that caused her injuries, the suit says.

The doctors noticed that Nara had blue sclera, a condition that causes the white part of her eye to appear blue. Sclera is often associated with disorders that have a predisposition to brittle bones and fractures, such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS).

“They did tests on all of us, and we all have it,” Myranda Phillips said of the genetic disorder.

Trying to learn about the cause of Nara’s injuries, the family says DCS has put obstacles in their way.

“We have not lost our parental rights, although DCS has tried to take away our access to medical records,” said Myranda Phillips. “We could take her to our doctor, but DCS had to be present.”

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If the pediatric child abuse doctor had seen Nara, they would have noticed other signs of EDS, the lawsuit says.

Court documents filed state that another child abuse pediatrician examined Nara in January 2023 and noted her blue sclera, but did not inform DCS staff that genetics could be the cause, and did not test the baby for EDS.

Instead, the suit alleged that the doctor sent a report to DCS that Nara’s injuries were consistent with “non-accidental trauma or inflicted injury”, and recommended that they take action for Nara’s safety.

A fact-finding hearing until the end of 2023 found that DCS failed to prove the girls were abused or neglected, according to the lawsuit, but DCS continued to hold their children, substantiating allegations of abuse and neglect against the parents.

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

The couple also feel that DCS was “punishing” them for trying to find the truth of what was going on with Nara.

“It was like DCS didn’t want to believe anyone other than the Riley doctors,” Grant Phillips said.

The couple feels that someone must answer for the actions that led to their children not only being taken, but kept away.

“It’s as if they were focused on potential guilt instead of the safety and well-being of our children,” said Myranda Phillips.

Jade Jackson is a public safety reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.

This article originally appeared on the Indianapolis Star: Couple accused of child abuse suing Indiana DCS and doctors