11-week-old’s brain severely injured at day care, but parents never knew, Ohio suit says
A mother on her lunch break went to visit her 11-week-old son at day care when she noticed the child was “lethargic, struggled to keep their eyes open, and showed little interest in a bottle,” an Ohio lawsuit said.
Three days later, the infant was rushed into emergency surgery as blood and fluid continued to pool inside his brain. Now, the family is suing Early Beginnings Child Care and Learning Center and employees at the Huber Heights day care, saying an unknown incident at the center caused a traumatic brain injury.
McClatchy News reached out to Early Beginnings Child Care and Learning Center for comment March 7 but did not immediately receive a response.
The lawsuit said the child was in “good spirits and appeared healthy” when he was dropped off the morning of July 15. By the afternoon, the 11-week-old was vomiting, according to the complaint.
His mother picked the baby up from day care and took him home where she noticed small dots on his arm, according to the complaint filed March 6.
The next day, she rushed her child to the hospital when she discovered orange urine, the lawsuit said. Medical staff determined the infant suffered bilateral subdural hematomas, or a pooling of blood between the skull and brain matter, according to court documents.
Hospital staff noticed bruising on his arms and determined the infant’s injuries were “nonaccidental, abusive head trauma,” the lawsuit said.
The child survived the brain surgery but faces an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disabilities, according to the complaint.
While the lawsuit does not detail what may have happened to the infant at the day care, the complaint says a day care employee walked in on a worker shaking another student weeks before the other child’s injuries were discovered.
“What we’ve come to understand is that this wasn’t an isolated incident,” the family’s attorney, Sean Alto, told WDTN. “This wasn’t one student who was injured. It was four. And not only that, the school knew about the first incident before (the infant) and did absolutely nothing to protect the other students.”
No incidents or injuries at the day care were reported to the parents, the lawsuit said.
The family is seeking $25,000 from the day care.
Huber Heights is about a 60-mile drive northeast from Cincinnati.
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 5:59 PM with the headline "11-week-old’s brain severely injured at day care, but parents never knew, Ohio suit says."
