The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Tipp City family whose daughter was 6 months old when she allegedly suffered a traumatic brain injury.
A Dayton Daily News investigation earlier this month noted the day care still has a gold Step Up to Quality rating from the Ohio Department of Children and Youth following state inspections after the police investigation began in July. One employee at the center of the investigation, who has since been fired, is facing one misdemeanor charge.
According to the lawsuit and Huber Heights police reports, a routine checkup July 29 at a pediatrician’s office revealed the Tipp City child had an enlarged head. After a scheduled ultrasound showed fluid on the brain, the girl was referred Aug. 14 to the Dayton Children’s Hospital emergency room for a CT scan, which reportedly found two brain bleeds that were considered suspicious.
The same day the infant was taken to the ER, the now former director of the day care center alerted her parents their daughter had been coughing and throwing up her bottles, the lawsuit stated.
The girl was admitted to the hospital, where she remained through Aug. 17. The child’s injury was reported to Miami County Children’s Services, police records say. They were advised to file a police report after telling a social worker their daughter attended Early Beginnings. Huber Heights police said it was not the first incident reported associated with the day care, the lawsuit stated.
“What stands out in this case is that Early Beginnings Child Care and Learning Center completely failed to supervise their employees and hold their employees accountable for their actions and inactions,” said attorney Roger Soroka. “What is more troubling is that we have sufficient evidence to believe Early Beginnings was aware of the child abuse and neglect happening at their facility and they simply turned a blind eye to it. Early Beginnings disregarded what was happening and ignored their statutory duty to report reasonable suspicions of child abuse and neglect.”
Early Beginnings issued a statement in response to media inquiries.
“The safety, wellbeing, and development of the children in our care remain our highest priorities,” the statement read.
“We understand that this situation may raise concerns, and we remain committed to transparency and maintaining the trust of our families. While we are unable to provide further details due to the ongoing legal process, we want to emphasize our dedication to upholding the highest standards of care and safety.”
The statement says the company can’t comment on personnel matters “due to privacy concerns.”
Previous suit, allegations
A previous lawsuit was filed March 6 in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court by Columbus law firm Cooper Elliott on behalf of a Troy family.
Huber Heights police opened an investigation after they were notified July 17 that the 11-week-old boy was taken by Troy medics to Dayton Children’s, where he was found to have a brain bleed in addition to blood in his urine, vomiting and bruising on his arms.
Both infants included in the lawsuits required surgical treatment and hospital stays. During the investigation into their injuries, police learned about two more abuse complaints.
The director of the Child Advocacy Center at Isaiah’s Place in Troy reported Aug. 15 that a child abuse allegation was reported to Miami County involving Early Beginnings. In that case, the parents of an infant girl took their child June 28 to a local ER for a cold. During the exam, the child was found to have bruising on her left cheek, a yellowish bruise in the middle of her back and a bruise on her elbow. The mother reported she thought the injuries were from her daughter sleeping on a pacifier, which investigators said did not appear to be consistent with the injuries, according to the Huber Heights police report.
A fourth abuse allegation, which came to light in October, is the only one that led to a criminal charge against a former employee who worked in the infant room at the time of the injuries.
Jessica Nicole Matthews, 47, of Huber Heights was charged with misdemeanor endangering children in Montgomery County Municipal Court - Eastern Division. She pleaded not guilty during her Feb. 4 arraignment. She is scheduled to appear Thursday for a pretrial hearing, but her attorney filed a motion for a continuance.
Matthews’ attorney did not return a request for comment.
Mandated reporters
In Ohio, day care employees are mandated reporters, meaning they are legally required to report suspected child abuse or endangerment. No one has been charged with failing to report in connection to the investigation at Early Beginnings.
An Ohio Department of Children and Youth investigator said there was no notification to the state or children services about the July 30 incident.
Early Beginnings neither informed the parents of any incidents involving their daughter nor provided any written incident or injury reports, according to the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Tipp City family.
“As a survivor of abusive head trauma, (the child) is more likely to develop neurodevelopmental disabilities throughout childhood as a direct consequence of her brain injuries,” the suit read.
The child and her parents “suffered extensive economic and noneconomic damages, including medical bills, lost wages, ongoing rehabilitation and therapy expenses, extreme emotional distress, and other losses in amounts to be determined at trial,” the suit states.
Although both lawsuits were filed in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, the first case was assigned to Judge Mary Montgomery and the latest was assigned to Judge Susan Solle.
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