Daycare abuse and neglect is a serious matter no child nor parent should ever have to encounter. An Austin daycare has been sued by the parents of a 5-month-old infant who died while at the daycare.
The infant’s death prompted an investigation by the Texas Department of Family Protective Services and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. The lawsuit alleges the caregiver who was responsible for watching over the infant placed the baby in a Bumbo, which is a sitting chair for infants. After removing the infant, the child began to whine and eventually cry.
The caregiver eventually placed the infant in a playpen while propped up by a pillow that was not authorized by the parents of the infant. While being propped up, the infant’s crying turned into screaming. The caregiver told investigators she left the infant in the crib to tend to other babies. At some point in time, the infant stopped screaming but the caregiver never checked on the infant for at least 5 minutes. When the caregiver returned, the infant was grey and not breathing. Eventually, the infant was taken to the hospital where she died five days later while on life support.
The parents learned that the daycare had a long history of being cited by the Texas Health and Human Services. Child-care centers are required to perform background checks and hire competent and qualified caregivers. Texas has minimum standards for care centers for children that must be followed. According to those standards, caregivers are supposed to provide proper supervision of the children at all times, and the supervisors of the caregivers are to ensure that training and safe caregiving techniques are being utilized.
If you or someone you know has been injured or killed at a daycare or child-care center, contact an experienced attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or toll free at 713-222-7211.