State DHR workers named in a wrongful death lawsuit in the hot-car death of an Alabama foster child are asking to be dismissed as defendants, claiming they have state-agent immunity.
Kettorius “KJ” Starkes Jr., 3, died July 22 while in the care of 54-year-old Kela Stanford, who at the time worked as a transport driver for Covenant Services Inc., which contracts with DHR.
In Alabama, state-agent immunity protects public employees from liability for damages when their actions are part of a discretionary function, meaning they involved the use of judgment in policy or the execution of their duties…