Busy Bodies Child Care Center was just hit with a lawsuit alleging two of its workers violently shook a baby, resulting in permanent brain damage.
Busy Bodies Child Care Center, a daycare in Myrtle Beach, and two of its employees were recently hit with a lawsuit by the parents of a 7-month-old over allegations that the baby was “violently shaken, causing him permanent damage.” The employees named in the suit are Gladys Knuesel and Lona Thomas. The suit was filed by Shauna Campbell and Rohan Thomas and argues the defendant “caused bodily harm and were negligent toward” their son back in 2019.
What happened, though? Well, back in November 2019, “officers responded to Busy Bodies for an unresponsive infant.” According to Campbell, “she received a phone call from Busy Bodies informing her that something was wrong with her child and that he was being transferred to Grand Strand Medical Center.” When questioned about the incident, Knuesel, the executive director and owner of the daycare, said “Thomas was feeding the 7-month-old when the baby started choking.” From there, Thomas and another employee began performing CPR on the infant. Additionally, 911 was also called. When an ambulance arrived, the baby was responsive and rushed to Grand Strand Medical for critical care. Around November 4, “he started having seizures,” according to the suit.
Alarmed by the seizures, the hospital began looking more into the child’s case because the “seizures raised suspicion that there may have been physical trauma caused by an adult.” MRI’s were ordered that showed the baby actually “had hemorrhaging in his brain, interspinous ligamentous edema in his neck and bilateral retinal hemorrhaging in his eye,” according to the suit. After that discovery, the child was “transferred by helicopter to the Medical University of South Carolina where it was determined the injuries the child had were most likely caused by being violently shaken by an adult.” Additionally, the hospital noted the “timing of the injury was pinpointed to during the time the child was at the daycare.”
Over time, the child underwent several procedures and was “given therapies that determined that he has failed to reach numerous developmental milestones.” The suit further states:
“The defendants (Busy Bodies) breached their duty to provide proper care for (the child) and were thereby negligent, grossly negligent, reckless, and careless.”
As a result, Myrtle Beach Police charged Thomas with the “infliction of great bodily injury upon a child.” From there, Thomas was “granted a $7,500 surety bond and ordered to stay away from the victim’s family and the daycare where she worked.”
The family of the child is now seeking actual and punitive damages “in an amount to be determined by the jury at the trial of this matter for the costs and disbursements in this action, and for such other and further relief as this Court may deem just and proper,” according to the suit.
Sources:
Parents file lawsuit against MB daycare, claim 7-month-old was violently shaken
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