1 ga13jadiel ARISTIDE

Jadiel Velesquez, center, is surrounded by his grandmother Noemi Escobar (cq), right, and her husband Jose Betances. in a 2013 file photo.

(Aristide Economopoulos/NJ Advance Media)

TRENTON -- A state appeals court on Tuesday threw out a $102 million verdict against the state that was awarded to a disabled boy after he was brutally beaten by his father.

The award, handed down in 2013, is believed to be among the largest personal injury verdicts ever awarded against the state.

At the time, a jury agreed that the state's child protection agency, then known as the Division of Youth and Family Services, failed to protect the Hillside infant from a father who had a history of violent outbursts and explosive behavior.

A jury awarded Jadiel Velesquez, now eight years old, $166 million. A state judge reduced the sum to $102 million in 2014.

The beating left Jadiel with brain damage and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life and in need of around-the-clock care. A bulk of the money was awarded for future medical bills.

But the three-judge appeals court panel in its ruling vacated the final judgement, saying the state workers who investigated the alleged abuse at the time acted in good faith and in accordance with state rules.

"The devastating physical injuries and permanent cognitive harm to baby Jesse were caused by the criminal conduct of his biological father, not by a division caseworker's good faith efforts to carry out his statutory responsibilities," the judges said in the ruling.

But the legal battle will continue.

David Mazie, attorney for Jadiel's grandparents, who now have custody of the boy, said they will appeal the court's ruling to the state's Supreme Court.

Mazie argued the panel overstepped when it ignored facts of the case jurors heard.

"The Supreme Court has said numerous times that you defer to the jury's factual findings," Mazie told NJ Advance Media.

"The Appellate Division improperly expanded the scope of tort claim immunity in New Jersey," he said. "We will be appealing to the New Jersey Supreme Court."

Mazie said case workers with the Division of Youth and Family Services, now the Department of Children and Families, didn't properly investigate the abuse or follow the proper procedures.

Mazie said the case workers didn't do a full check of the criminal history of the father, Joshua Velesquez, which included some 20 arrests on charges that included assaults in Florida, where Velesquez lived previously.

Velesquez admitted to shaking his infant son after he started crying in 2009. The baby slipped from his hands and fell on the floor on his head, Velesquez said. He then called 911 when he noticed the baby wasn't breathing.

Velesquez, who was sentenced to six years in prison on aggravated assault charges in connection with the beating, has since been released from jail, Mazie said.

Mazie also said officials failed to follow up on other matters, such as when Jadiel's grandmother, Neomi Escobar, reported finding a crack pipe in the boy's diaper bag, Mazie said.

The state challenged the ruling in 2015.

A spokesman for the Department of Children and Families did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook.