Kathryn and Joshua Silvers filed a wrongful death and medical malpractice suit against Discovery Ranch and several medical professionals after their 17-year-old son, Biruk Silvers, died Nov. 5, 2024.

The 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City granted a joint motion to dismiss the case with prejudice on Feb. 25.

“The tragic death of Biruk Silvers at Discovery Ranch Academy led to serious claims that were ultimately resolved,” said Alan Mortensen, an attorney representing the Silvers family, in a statement to the Daily Herald. “Our hope is that this resolution prompts meaningful scrutiny of youth treatment programs and reinforces the imperative of transparency, safety, and accountability in institutions entrusted with vulnerable children.”

Discovery Ranch Executive Director Clint Dorny affirmed in an email sent to the Daily Herald that the case had been resolved. He added that a Utah Division of Child and Family Services case against Perry Garso, who was Biruk’s therapist at Discovery Ranch, was fully nullified, and that Garso was exonerated of all findings.

Garso’s exoneration comes following Salt Lake Tribune reporting in November that Utah’s child protective services had found Discovery Ranch health care workers had physically neglected Biruk.

“There were no other legal actions and there are no unresolved agency actions against our program regarding the tragic death at Discovery Ranch in November of 2024,” Dorny said. 

The civil suit against Discovery Ranch and others claimed in the days leading up to his death, Biruk disclosed plans of self-harm to his medical caretakers and participated in a dangerous asphyxiation game, but was never placed on suicide watch, was permitted to keep a belt in his possession and was left alone for extended periods of time despite experiencing a mental health crisis.

In a response to the claims from Discovery Ranch defendants, they admitted Biruk was not placed on one-one-one supervision and that his belt was not removed on the day of his death, but denied that Biruk disclosed an explicit plan of future self-harm to Discovery Ranch and its staff. The Discovery Ranch defendants also denied that Biruk was left alone for a significant period of time with no staff or fellow students present.