It was in May 2021 that Falu municipality, against the parents' will, placed John Walter in an HVB home in Värmland's Hagfors.
Just over two weeks later, he escaped from the home and was found a few hours later drowned.
The home had previously been criticized several times by Ivo (Inspection for Care and Support), which also later criticized Falu municipality for the placement.
But both Falu District Court and Svea Court of Appeal acquit the municipality.
"Must appeal"
Previously, two employees at the HVB home in question have also been acquitted. Thus, no one has yet been held responsible for the death, notes father Hans-Erik Sjöholm disappointedly.
We must appeal. If this verdict stands, other children will also be at risk and be without rights, he says.
The municipalities, the decision-makers, are never held responsible for their decisions. I cannot understand it.
Broken fences
Falu District Court noted in its verdict that the municipality was aware that John Walter was prone to escape and that there were broken fences and gates at the accommodation. However, the municipality could not know that the boy would be left unattended for a short time, according to the court.
Now Svea Court of Appeal confirms the verdict.
It is of course a tremendous disappointment, it cannot be right that municipalities are allowed to place children in life-threatening HVB homes, says Alexandra Loyd, lawyer at the Center for Justice, who represents the parents.
Here, a child has died in the care of society, but no one is responsible. We will help the parents appeal to the Supreme Court.
(TT) On the morning of June 15, 2021, the staff discovered that five-year-old John Walter had disappeared from an HVB home in Hagfors. He was found dead a few hours later in the nearby Uvån.
Two employees who worked at night at the home were later prosecuted for causing another person's death. They were convicted in the district court but later acquitted in the court of appeal.
Even before the death, there had been criticism of the safety at the home. The Inspection for Care and Support (Ivo) later found in an investigation that the social committee in Falu municipality, which had placed the boy at the home in Hagfors, had failed in its responsibility.
Both Falu District Court and Svea Court of Appeal have, however, acquitted the municipality of the parents' claims for damages. Ivo decided after the death to temporarily close Platea's two HVB operations in Hagfors. Humana, where Platea is included, later found in its Lex Sarah investigation that deficiencies in the operations probably contributed to the death. The two HVB homes in Hagfors were therefore permanently closed down.
