Allen Mom Sues Daycare Center After Son Rescued by Good Samaritan Near Busy Road
Daycare injury attorneys at The Button Law Firm fight to get answers after law enforcement had to push daycare workers to check facility for missing children
ALLEN, Texas, Jan. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Allen mother Miriah Mattos praises a Good Samaritan for rescuing her 2-year-old son near McDermott Drive, a busy six-lane road with a speed limit of 45 mph, in March 2023. However, she filed a lawsuit against Safari Kid Allen, the daycare center that was responsible for her son's well-being, and demands answers for why he was not being supervised, thus allowing him to exit the facility, go unnoticed for an extended amount of time, wander across a parking lot, and end up near a busy road before the good Samaritan found him.
The lawsuit states the good Samaritan checked with a nearby daycare center to see if the boy wandered from that facility. The hero then contacted law enforcement, who contacted other centers in the area to determine where the boy came from. When the officer arrived at Safari Kid Allen, the complaint states that the director at Safari Kid Allen assured the officer the facility was not missing any children. The officer then pushed the director to make sure all children were accounted for before he then brought the boy forward to be identified. That is when the director identified the toddler as a student at the facility.
"I am so angry that Safari Kid Allen did not do their job to watch my son and then had no idea he was missing, even when asked by law enforcement," says Mattos. "It is horrifying to think about what would have happened to him if that kind person did not stop and rescue him."
Safari Kid Allen advertises itself as a facility that "creates a safe and secure environment" and that its teachers "abide by strict health and safety practices," but what happened to Mattos' son tells a different story. According to the complaint, the law enforcement officer walked through Safari Kid Allen and discovered there were numerous ways the boy could have exited the center. The officer noted the doors did not have working safety alarms; the playground was not locked; and a piece of cardboard supported by a child-size plastic table covered a gap in the playground fence.
An investigation revealed Safari Kid Allen received 45 citations from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for violating the state's daycare laws from September 2019 to November 2023. Seventeen of the safety violations were cited after the incident involving Mattos' son, according to the suit.
"Safari Kid Allen clearly dropped the ball by not closely watching the children in its care, including our client's son," says Mattos' lawyer, Texas daycare injury attorney Russell Button of The Button Law Firm. "An innocent toddler's life was risked when it did not have to be?he could have been hit by a car or even kidnapped. Safari Kid Allen failed this family by not complying with basic safety standards."
The case is Miriah Mattos, Individually and as next friend of J.M., a minor child, vs. Salient Path Texas, LLC d/b/a Safari Kid Allen, Cause No. 429-00484-2024 in the District Court of Collin County, Texas. A copy of the complaint can be accessed here.
About the Button Law Firm
The Button Law Firm (buttonlawfirm.com) is a Texas-based personal injury law firm that advocates for children and their families in meaningful litigation to make local communities safer. The firm focuses on daycare and child-related injuries such as abuse and neglect cases, bottle warmer burns, traumatic brain injuries, and catastrophic injuries. With attorneys in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, The Button Law Firm helps families move forward across the Lone Star State.
SOURCE The Button Law Firm
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