A Superior Court judge this week formally approved a $12 million settlement from the state on behalf of the adoptive family of “Baby Dylan,” a child who nearly died of abuse and neglect in an unlicensed foster home in Groton chosen by the state Department of Children and Families.

The settlement represents what the New London-based Reardon Law Firm said is the largest personal injury settlement for a single plaintiff in the state’s history.

The Reardon Law Firm had filed suit against the state in 2021, securing from the state a rare admission of partial liability in the state’s failure to provide proper oversight of the child, who was removed with his three siblings from the home of his biological parents in 2015.

The Reardon Law Firm secured the settlement on Jan. 24, court records show, following negotiations with the attorney general’s office and as a trial neared. The boy at the center of the case, who is now 8 years old, is in the care of Jerry and Joyce Barrios of Waterford.

The state Judiciary Committee approved the settlement on Feb. 22 and the settlement automatically passed 30 days later when the General Assembly took no formal vote. Hartford Superior Court Judge Claudia A. Baio approved the settlement on March 20, court records show.

Attorney Robert Reardon has said the money ensures the family has sufficient funds to compensate for what the child has been through in the early years of his life and cover ongoing needs for the future.

“Baby Dylan,” the pseudonym used for the child at the center of the case, was just 13 months old when DCF removed him from his home amid concerns of neglect by his biological parents.

Baby Dylan remained in foster care at the Groton home of Crystal Magee from June 12, 2015 to Nov. 10, 2015. It was discovered shortly after that the child was severely malnourished and unable to walk, talk or feed himself. The child also had scars, abrasions and bruises and weeks-old broken bones in both of his arms.

“Baby Dylan’s adoptive parents, who have taken him into their home and provided loving care for years, will now be able to ensure that he is properly cared for and treated for the rest of his life with the funds being placed into a trust for his benefit,” Reardon said in a statement.

g.smith@theday.com