Dear Jana,
I am sorry for your loss.
The attorneys are not shying away just because the state is involved - attorneys sue the state with some frequency. The problem is probably that there are issues of sovereign immunity involved - that the state bars lawsuits against social workers for their on-the-job errors, no matter how egregious. The same thing happens in other states - lawyers who would be happy to sue the state over injuries to children which result from the ineptitude of social workers find themselves blocked by sovereign immunity.

