Texas State Jury Awards Parents $ 142 Million In Negligence Suit Against Operators Of Day Care Where Baby Died After Being Left On Adult Bed Swaddled And Unattended
Hat Ballou Inc. and Gina Moore operated All In the Family Child Care Services daycare facility. On April 9, 2014, Zac and Heather Lytle dropped off their seven month old son Roger Lytle at the facility. Roger was laid down for a nap during the lunch hour and was swaddled. Roger was then moved to a different room and left unmonitored while still swaddled. When facility staff went to wake him up, he was found face down and unresponsive on an adult bed with dependent lividity to his central forehead. Shortly after noon, Zac Lytle received a phone call from Moore telling him Roger was not breathing. Roger was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined Roger died as a result of asphyxia due to smothering
On Nov. 6, 2014, Zac Lytle and Heather Lytle, individually and as representatives of Roger's Estate, filed suit against Hat Ballou and Moore in the 68thJudicial District Court of Dallas County, Texas. The Lytles asserted the defendants breached the standard of care by failing to implement adequate policies and protections to prevent accidents like that suffered by Roger, failing to properly train its employees, failing to properly monitor and/or supervise Roger, failing to maintain a proper policy regarding the proper child care safety for babies while sleeping, placing a child of Roger's age for unmonitored sleep outside a crib, failing to ensure its employees were properly qualified and/or certified, swaddling and placing a child in a position where smothering could occur, and not keeping proper watch over Roger. The Lytles also argued the defendants' conduct amounted to violations of governmental regulations and/or statutes and constituted negligence per se. The Lytle sought all damages recoverable pursuant to the Texas Wrongful Death statute and survival actions, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code $ S 71.001 et seq., including past and future loss of companionship and society, past and future mental anguish, physical pain and mental anguish and suffering experienced by Roger prior to his death, medical, funeral and burial expenses,and past and future pecuniary loss. The Lytles also sought exemplary damages, costs of court, and interest.
Trial was presided over by Judge Martin Hoffman. On June 23, 2016, the jury found Moore was negligent and her negligence proximately caused the injury in question. The jury awarded $ 1,000,000 for past loss of companionship and society, $ 35,000,000 for loss of future companionship and society, $ 12,500,000 for past mental anguish, and $ 22,500,000 for future mental anguish each to Zac and Heather Lytle, for a total award of $ 142,000,000. According to The Dallas Morning News, the verdict was one of the largest of its kind in Dallas County and possibly the United States. The News also noted the facility had been closed and had no insurance, making the possibility of recovery unlikely.
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