In his op-ed in this newspaper, Greg Thomas, representing Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA), claimed that “lawsuit abuse” is burdening West Virginia taxpayers. The basis of this dubious claim are the insurance claims paid by the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management (BRIM). He said it’s lawsuit abuse. The truth paints a different picture.

The column failed to provide readers with context or facts. West Virginians deserve accurate information. John Adams said it best: “Facts are stubborn things . . . they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

BRIM was created by the state in 1957 to provide insurance coverage for West Virginia and its subdivisions — state departments and agencies. The goal was to save money by bringing the insurance in-house instead of purchasing private insurance. BRIM is the insurer for county schools.

West Virginia made national news after public school students were physically, mentally, and sexually abused by school employees. Incidents in Berkeley County led to legislation requiring cameras in special needs classrooms. Even with the cameras installed, the abuse continued.

In another county, 110 instances of physical abuse were recorded at a single school. Cameras caught the horrific abuse of seven special needs students at another school. One boy cried for his dad. The response? “Your daddy can’t help you here.”

A judge who viewed the video said it was “like something out of a Stephen King novel.”

Who can question the validity of these claims? Granted, CALA is a front group for large corporations and the insurance industry whose only goal is increasing profits, but surely even they can’t question the legitimacy of these claims.

Decades ago BRIM leaders decided to offer coverage to state nonprofits, too. Miracle Meadows, a private, alternative boarding school in Harrison County, was one of the new insured nonprofits. More than 100 former students brought claims against the school. This might appear excessive, but it’s the result of decades of horrendous abuse at the school.

For more than 30 years, hundreds of Miracle Meadows students, between the ages of 6 and 17, suffered physical, sexual, and mental abuse and torture by the school’s teachers and administrators. Students were handcuffed, chained, and shackled to beds. Some were put in small, dark isolation rooms for months, sleeping on the floor and using coffee cans for bathrooms. There were beatings, starvation, and sexual assaults. If a sexual assault resulted in pregnancy, the girl was forced to have an abortion. The full list of allegations is long.

It was learned that no criminal or child abuse background checks were done on employees. Many were foreign nationals, and they were often the primary abusers.

What is more disturbing is that school administrators allegedly sent staff back to their native countries to avoid detection by authorities and escape responsibility.

State agencies and law enforcement began to investigate the school in the late 1990s. It closed in 2014 after a student attempted suicide and was taken to the hospital. Away from her school “handlers,” she told medical staff what was occurring.

Medical doctors and other professionals equated the abuses to torture, and a West Virginia court agreed. It resulted in damages to their physical and mental well-being. It also affected brain development, resulting in life-long injuries. The students will need treatment and care for a long time.

The school’s director served just six months in jail. It was our state’s civil justice system, not law enforcement, that exposed the breadth of the atrocities these children suffered. Again I would pray that no one believes that these were “frivolous claims.” BRIM stepped up, and these victims received justice.

Unfortunately, abuse happens. When it does, the abuser shouldn’t get immunity. The right solution protects our children, holds those responsible accountable, and compensates the victims for medical, psychological, and other treatments and damages, ensuring that victims and their families are made whole. It would also make the places where the abuse occurred address the problems so our children are safe.

BRIM recognizes that. Its leaders told legislators recently that it will be reviewing and inspecting its nonprofit customers who work with children and at-risk youth. This is a welcome change. Had these reviews and regular inspections been in place before Miracle Meadows received coverage, the tragedies there would not have happened.

CALA shouldn’t mislead West Virginians about these horrific claims. You reduce claims by eliminating the problems that led to claims being filed. We want to help with that and invite CALA and others to join us.

I believe this effort begins with supporting BRIM’s plan for increased oversight and ensuring it has the funding to do it. This will help ensure that a tragedy like Miracle Meadows doesn’t happen again.

Steven R. Broadwater Jr. is the president of the West Virginia Association for Justice.