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Leving legal team won appeal defending falsely accused Chicago dad
By Laura Reichel
The Leving legal team won a critical decision from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in favor of an accused father they defended. It is terrifying for any father to be faced with the allegation that he neglected his own child. Over the decades, the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd. has received many calls from frightened fathers, claiming that they have been falsely accused of abuse based on flimsy evidence.
Chicago matrimonial attorney Jeffery M. Leving and attorney and Litigation Director Art Kallow of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd. will talk about this complex case on the weekly radio show, the Dads’ Rights Legal Hour, 9-10 a.m. CDT Saturday, August 24th on Power 92.3 FM. This show will be available for download on the Dads’ Rights Legal Hour Spotify page on dadsrights.com
At issue was a serious elbow injury suffered by Dad’s 11-year-old daughter, for whom he shares parenting time with his ex. The girl apparently fell off a bicycle while she was with her father. The girl received medical treatment then, and in the following days was examined by doctors. The girl’s pediatrician said the wound was healing.
At one point, the injury appeared to worsen – and the mother accused the father of being negligent.
The parents’ divorce is characterized in case documents as “hostile,” and there have been instances where divorced parents have lodged false DCFS complaints based on flimsy or exaggerated evidence just to cause trouble for their ex-spouse. This is wrong.
Despite the flimsy alleged evidence against Dad, DCFS did issue an indicated finding of medical neglect against this caring Dad.
You may wonder – what difference does it make, as long as the girl is in good health now? The answer is, if this indicated finding by DCFS was upheld, Dad’s name could have been placed on the State Central Register of suspected child abusers, which could lead to grave legal and personal consequences down the road. He had a right to contest this – which is why he turned to the Leving team for help.
The Leving legal team went to a hearing and showed that Dad took excellent care of his daughter, and any allegation to the contrary was wrong and based on a lack of knowledge of all the facts. They won.
The administrative law judge found that the evidence did NOT support the DCFS indicated finding of neglect against the client, and the judge granted the team’s request on behalf of Dad to have the finding expunged. This is an important victory for Dad, modified for broadcast, that prevents a report to DCFS from hurting him personally, and from damaging his relationship with his daughter. Relieved is the word I used at the beginning of this article, and I think you understand now why Dad felt this way.
Attorney and Litigation Director Arthur S. Kallow
Attorney Arthur S. Kallow was honored for his valuable contribution to the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County as a court facilitator. Kallow was also selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer. Super Lawyers are considered the best in their profession, and they represent the top practicing attorneys in Illinois and the country.
The Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd.
Matrimonial attorney Jeffery M. Leving is the recipient of President Biden’s Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, the Illinois House of Representatives has honored Leving “for his work in safeguarding the rights of fathers and protecting the welfare of children and families in this State,” and the Illinois Senate issued a proclamation recognizing his efforts on behalf of fathers.
To learn more about law and fatherhood, follow the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd. on Facebook and X.
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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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