- You TubeWe filed the lawsuit in Texas state district court on behalf of the mother of a 2-year-old girl who choked to death at a northeast Dallas daycare center one year ago. The lawsuit includes claims that the daycare’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.
According to our 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, five to 10 minutes passed before any school employees realized something was wrong. Isabella later died after being transported to a local hospital.
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 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.
We believe 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 daycare facility.
“The response from this daycare center has been pitifully lacking from the beginning of this terrible tragedy,” Jeff Rasansky said. “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 daycare 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.
Stay tuned for press coverage.
