Lawsuit Claims Caregivers' Negligence Enabled Child to Abuse 2-Year-Old at Life Time

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Jul 17, 2023, 08:49 ET

The Button Law Firm alleges luxury gym's negligence failed to keep toddler safe

FRISCO, Texas, July 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A family in Frisco is suing Life Time claiming a child in the fitness club's childcare center was able to strip the clothes off their 2-year-old son and assault him by repeatedly hitting and punching him in the genitals. The lawsuit states not a single staff member responded to the boy's loud cries while the attack occurred in a play structure. The June 2022 incident only stopped when the toddler's 4-year-old brother heard his pleas for help and intervened, according to the complaint.

A family in Frisco is suing Life Time claiming a child in the fitness club’s childcare center was able to strip the clothes off their 2-year-old son and assault him by repeatedly hitting and punching him in the genitals. (JHVEPhoto - stock.adobe.com)

The parents of the victim, Paul and Carol Butera, allege the luxury gym failed to deliver on safety promises and breached its duty of care to properly hire, train, and supervise its childcare employees. The couple claims they were called to the childcare area, but no one on staff could explain what happened to their son. The Buteras knew something was seriously wrong when they checked their son's body and saw his genitals were inflamed, according to the suit.

To make matters worse, Life Time denied the parents access to surveillance footage. The suit continues that the Buteras learned the details of the incident involving their 2-year-old once they contacted the Frisco Police Department.

"This instance of child-on-child abuse that was able to happen at Life Time's childcare center is deeply disturbing," says Russell Button of The Button Law Firm, who represents the Butera family in this suit along with Snellings Law PLLC. "Our clients trusted the several safety promises that Life Time made to its members and never fathomed how the facility and its workers would fail their young son."

The case is Paul and Carol Butera, Individually and as Parents and Next Friends of B.B., a minor child, vs. Life Time Digital, LLC, d/b/a Life Time Fitness, Cause No. 471-03633-2023 in Collin 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, finger injuries, toy-related injuries, and catastrophic injuries. With attorneys in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, The Button Law Firm helps families across the Lone Star State.

SOURCE The Button Law Firm