Huber Heights day care accused of negligence after 3-month-old suffers brain injury

Montgomery County Common Pleas Court

Montgomery County Common Pleas Court

A family is suing a Huber Heights daycare for negligence after their 3-month-old son reportedly suffered a brain injury while at the facility.

Cooper Elliott law firm filed the civil lawsuit against Early Beginnings Child Care and Learning Center on behalf of the family earlier this week in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.

The lawsuit names the day care, as well as multiple current and/or former day care employees and/or administrators.

Early Beginnings staff members are accused of failing as mandated reporters to report reasonable suspicious of child abuse or neglect.

The lawsuit claims the day care has a reasonable duty to ensure staff is vetted, trained and retrained and is responsible for the acts of its staff.

The family enrolled the boy at Early Beginnings Child Care at 5833 Shull Road on July 8.

Starting that day, he reportedly showed uncharacteristic signs of increasing fussiness, sleep disruption and inconsolability while at home.

On July 15, his mother stopped by the day care during her lunch break and noticed his behavior had changed considerably since the morning.

Her son was lethargic, struggled to keep his eyes open and showed little interest in a bottle, according to court records.

Around 1:50 p.m., Early Beginnings staff called the mother and said her son threw up his lunchtime bottle.

His mother left work and took her son home. No day care staff mentioned any incidents involving the boy to his mother, according to the complaint.

The infant continued to be ill through the evening. His pediatrician reportedly told the baby’s mother to bring him to the emergency room if he developed a fever or his demeanor changed.

His parents took him to Dayton Children’s Hospital around 8 p.m. on July 16 after his mother noticed his urine was an unusual color.

Various scans and tests revealed the infant had blood pooling between his skull and brain.

“These injuries, combined with (the boy’s) vomiting and the lack of explanation for how the injuries were caused, led medical staff to suspect that (the boy) had been the victim of a nonaccidental, abusive head trauma,” the complaint read.

He needed emergency brain surgery to alleviate the pressure on his brain and was able to go home on July 26.

On Aug. 1, a Miami County social worker reportedly told the family there was another incident at the day care involving a different child.

“On information and belief, an Early Beginnings Child Care staff member walked in on another staff member shaking a different child a few weeks after (the boy’s) traumatic brain injuries were discovered,” the complaint read.

The family is seeking a jury trial with compensatory damages exceeding $25,000, as well as punitive damages, according to court records.

Early Beginnings and its defense team have not responded to requests for comments.

The day care’s most recent inspection on Feb. 13 showed the facility was partially compliant.

Unsanitary conditions were found in a bathroom, a staff member had educational information on file that was not be verified and at least one child had incomplete enrollment information.

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