B.C. baby shaken in foster care gets $13M settlement

A Central Saanich girl who suffered severe brain injuries after being shaken by her foster mother's boyfriend as a baby is to receive $13 millionin the largest settlement ever awarded for such an injury in British Columbia.

The girl, who has not been identified,was injured in 2008. A court later ruled that the man involved was not criminally responsible. She is now in the care of her biological grandfather.

The award is part of an out-of-court settlement involving the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the foster mother's insurer.

Lawyer Deborah Acheson, who represented the girl and her family, said it is the first time that other costs, in addition to medical needs, have been included in an award.

"Every aspect of [her family's] life is more expensive," she said."They need diapers way beyond the age of three. They need her food, her dental, everything she would need because she would have no capacity to make income to make up any of those expenses."

Until now, the girl's $250,000-a-year medical expenses have been paid for by Acheson's law firm, since the ministry initially refused to contribute beyond the cost of living in a group home.