Lawsuit: Video Exposed Carrollton Daycare Center Lied About 2-Year-Old's Injury
The Button Law Firm's daycare injury lawyers claim caregivers at LMNOP Children's caused toddler's black eye and punctured lip
CARROLLTON, Texas, April 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- When April Marin arrived at LMNOP Children's Academy in Carrollton to pick up her 2-year-old son at the end of the workday, she noticed he had the beginnings of a black eye, and his bottom lip appeared swollen and had been punctured all the way through. She is now suing the daycare center for her son's injuries, claiming its caregivers lied to cover up the November 2023 incident and violated other Texas childcare laws.
The lawsuit states workers at LMNOP Children's Academy initially told Marin her son was injured while eating a snack, but the center's surveillance footage revealed a different story. A frustrated worker dropped the boy on a nap cot and then yanked the cot, causing him to fall, hit his head, and bite through his bottom lip, according to the complaint.
"Nothing prepares you for watching your young child get seriously hurt by the caregivers who are supposed to keep him safe. I selected LMNOP Children's Academy because of its safety promises," Marin says. "When I saw the surveillance footage, I was in shock. Nothing about the situation that the workers told me was true."
Marin's lawsuit also claims LMNOP Children's Academy did not contact her when the incident occurred and waited several hours to file a state-mandated incident report that should have been completed shortly after the incident. In addition, the daycare center provided incorrect information and had another caregiver, who was nowhere in the vicinity of the boy, falsely corroborate the caregiver's story about how Marin's son was injured. The complaint continues that the boy did not receive medical attention until Marin rushed him to an urgent care facility.
"Video footage does not lie and, in this case, revealed the truth about our client's son's injury at LMNOP Children's Academy," says daycare injury attorney Russell Button of The Button Law Firm, who represents Marin and her son. "Attempting to cover up a child's injury can put a child's health at risk if parents are not notified and the child does not receive necessary medical care."
The toddler's injury was not the first time LMNOP Children's Academy cut safety corners. Citations from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission reveal the daycare center had 14 failures for similar issues raised in Marin's suit over the span of four years ranging from failing to notify parents immediately following a child's injury and failing to report a situation that put a child's life or health at risk to caregivers using unapproved discipline tactics and the center not completing background checks on its caregivers.
The case is April Marin, Individually and as next friend of N.M., a minor child, vs. Merit Ventures LLC d/b/a LMNOP Children's Academy, Cause No. CC-24-02975-A in Dallas 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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