Georgia Couple Whose Daughters Were Taken After False Child Abuse Claims File Lawsuit
Matt and Tuckey Hernandez lost their daughters for two years after their infant's medical issues were misidentified as abuse.
A Georgia couple whose children were taken from them for two years following a false claim of child abuse have filed a lawsuit, arguing that the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) officials violated official polices in an effort to sever their parental rights.
The family's ordeal—which was investigated in a 2024 story for Reason—began in 2023, when Matt and Tuckey Hernandez took their youngest daughter, 3-month-old Emma, to the doctor after noticing some swelling on one of her legs. Matt also expressed concern about a small bruise he noticed behind Emma's ear in the previous week.
The Hernandezes' pediatrician told the couple to go to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), where X-rays found that Emma's leg and ribs were fractured in several places. At the hospital, Stephen Messner, a child abuse pediatrician, quickly diagnosed Emma with "non-accidental trauma," another word for child abuse.
However, there were good reasons to doubt Messner's diagnosis. The Hernandezes showed all signs of being loving parents, and there was no evidence of abuse on the couple's 3-year-old daughter. "When coming to his child abuse diagnosis, Defendant Messner never reviewed any of Baby Emma's birth records, Plaintiff Tuckey's prenatal medical history or either of Plaintiffs' parental medical history, and only gathered some information at bedside," the suit states.
Instead of exploring Emma's concerning medical symptoms, the state removed the Hernandezes' daughters from their care and placed the girls in a series of foster homes. Both parents were eventually charged with child abuse.
The lawsuit further alleges that the DFCS violated its own policies in refusing to place the girls with relatives or family friends. Further, the lawsuit also alleges that, at one point*, a doctor "performed an invasive, internal pelvic exam…which was not supported or justified by any of the symptoms with which Baby Emma presented, and despite no child sexual abuse being suspected." Making things worse, no one told Matt—who still had parental rights—about the exam or attempted to get his informed consent.
Several theories have been presented that could explain Emma's injuries. When she was admitted to the hospital, Emma had very low vitamin D, which one physician testifying at a 2023 hearing claimed had caused her to develop neonatal rickets, weakening her bones. The condition would also explain why Emma had a large soft spot that appeared to be on the wrong part of her head. Further, in February 2024, Emma was diagnosed with acrocyanosis, "a medical condition that causes the hands, feet, and other parts of the body to present with a bluish, white, or gray coloration," according to the lawsuit. Genetic testing also indicated that Emma had defects in her collagen genes, possibly causing conditions associated with fractures in infants.
But these possibilities were largely ignored by the DFCS, which continued to attempt to sever Matt and Tuckey's parental rights and have the girls adopted by another family.
"We've given them so much evidence to prove this little girl was born with so many problems," Matt told Reason in a 2024 interview. "I just don't understand how that's the system."
Last month, Matt and Tuckey were acquitted of all charges, and their daughters were finally returned to them. The couple filed their lawsuit last month, claiming that the DFCS employees, doctors, and law enforcement officers violated a range of constitutional rights and state laws. The defendants "have worked together to deprive innocent families of their parental rights while denying adequate medical care to medically fragile children suffering from undiagnosed conditions that lead to their illnesses and injuries," the suit reads.
*CORRECTION: an earlier version of this article misstated when a physician performed a pelvic exam on Emma Hernandez.
