DALLAS, Nov. 5 Attorneys from Dallas' Rasansky Law Firm are announcing a lawsuit filed in Texas state district court on behalf of the mother of a 2-year-old girl who choked to death at a northeast Dallas day care center one year ago. The lawsuit includes claims that the day care's owners quickly sold the business in order to prevent a report about the child's death from showing up on a state licensing database.
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According to the lawsuit filed in the 44th District Court in Dallas, employees at the Woodbridge Day School located on Plano Road failed to notice when 2-year old Isabella Estep started choking on a small rock and collapsed inside the school on Oct. 31, 2008. Despite activity all around the unconscious child, 5-10 minutes passed before any school employees realized something was wrong. Isabella later died after being transported to a local hospital.
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An investigation by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS) found evidence of child neglect on behalf of teacher Mia Jennings and the school, which was owned at the time by Neyse Hall and Robert Hall. According to the investigation report, Ms. Jennings did not meet the state's required qualifications and had received no first aid training, a fact that Ms. Hall admitted she knew when she hired Ms. Jennings. The state agency also found 20 specific instances where the school did not meet state-mandated requirements.
Attorneys for Isabella's family also allege that the school's owners prevented the results of the investigation from being made public by selling the school. According to the TDFPS investigator, Mr. Hall said he wanted to "sell the operation as quickly as possible" if the state planned to close the facility. As a result of the sale, the school has continued to operate without information about Isabella's death being available on the state database used by other parents when selecting a day care facility.
"The response from this day care center has been pitifully lacking from the beginning of this terrible tragedy," says attorney Jeff Rasansky. "They have not been truthful about their role in this child's death, and they have taken steps to prevent parents of other children from ever learning about their involvement."
The lawsuit filed on behalf Marcelina Osorio, the child's mother, charges that the day care center failed to provide the minimum degree of competency and good judgment as required by state law. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and expenses. The case is Marcelina Osorio v. Learn Childcare Inc. d/b/a Woodbridge Day School, No. 09-14940.
After earning his law degree from the Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1990, Mr. Rasansky joined a downtown Dallas firm where he learned the legal tactics used by large insurance companies, hospitals and nursing homes. In 1994, he formed the Rasansky Law Firm. In addition to expertise in day care injury claims, the Rasansky Law Firm also represents clients in catastrophic injury claims, including medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, products liability, and serious vehicle accidents.
For more information, please visit the Rasansky Law Firm on the Web at www.daycareabuse.com, or contact Bruce Vincent at 800-559-4534 or [email protected].
SOURCE Rasansky Law Firm
