Beaten New Jersey Boy, 4, Wins in Lawsuit NEWARK - An Essex County jury handed down a $166 million verdict on Friday against the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services in a case involving a boy who suffered severe brain damage allegedly caused by a beating. The award was given to 4-year-old Jadiel Velesquez. Jadiel's grandparents had sued the agency, accusing it of failing to remove the boy from his home after he was taken to the hospital with unexplained bruises. The grandparents said the bruises were inflicted by the boy's father. Lawyers said the boy was returned to his mother's home despite a doctor's finding of abuse. The beating that left him dependent on 24-hour care happened weeks later, in July 2009. In a department memo, Allison Blake, the commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, which encompasses the Division of Youth and Family Services, said the agency was reviewing the verdict to see if it would appeal. She said the state's child welfare system had undergone major reforms. Jadiel's father pleaded guilty to the beating and is serving a six-year prison term, lawyers said.