Lawsuit Claims Lack of Supervision and Poor Security at Irving Daycare Center Endangered Toddler

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Jan 22, 2024, 11:17 ET

Suit filed by daycare injury attorneys at The Button Law Firm claims Miss Bloomingdale's Academy violated child-neglect and daycare safety laws

IRVING, Texas, Jan. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The mother of a 2-year-old girl is now suing Miss Bloomingdale's Academy in Irving, claiming her daughter was neglected and her life put in danger by the daycare center in October 2022. The suit states the little girl was not properly supervised by caregivers, making her able to walk out of the classroom, open a back door that led to the playground, and exit the facility without anyone at the daycare center noticing she was gone for an extended amount of time. Only when her father arrived to pick her up at the end of the day did daycare workers realize the little girl was missing, according to the complaint.

The playground at Miss Bloomingdale’s Academy is located on a busy road, just steps away from the Trinity Elm Fork River. A lawsuit states a 2-year-old girl was was neglected and her life put in danger by the daycare center when she was able to walk out of the classroom, open a back door that led to the playground, and exit the facility without anyone at the daycare center noticing she was gone for an extended amount of time.

Video footage showed the girl crying and unsuccessfully trying to pull the daycare center's metal door open, then yelling as she attempted to get back into the center. The father later found the toddler when he heard loud banging and screaming coming from outside of Miss Bloomingdale's Academy. Daycare workers could not explain how the toddler ended up outside or how long she was left unsupervised, according to the suit.

"I just want answers on how it was possible that Miss Bloomingdale's Academy allowed my daughter to wander outside and did not even notice she was missing for several hours," says Veronica Reynolds, mother of the 2-year-old girl. "That whole situation has traumatized my young daughter and myself. As a single working mom, I trusted this daycare to keep her safe."

The playground at Miss Bloomingdale's Academy is located on a busy road, just steps away from the Trinity Elm Fork River. One section of a damaged playground fence had an opening, large enough for a toddler to fit through and potentially drown in the river, get hit by oncoming traffic, or get abducted, according to the suit.

A state investigation into the incident found Miss Bloomingdale's Academy in violation of several daycare safety laws put in place to prevent neglect incidents like what the little girl experienced. For example, the center failed to conduct a proper headcount of the children, document the children being transferred from the playground to each classroom at the facility, properly supervise the children in its care, and maintain playground equipment and fencing.

"Plain and simple: Miss Bloomingdale's ignored multiple state safety laws that neglected and endangered the life of an innocent toddler," says Texas daycare injury attorney Russell Button of The Button Law Firm, who represents Reynolds and her daughter. "Closely watching children is a basic skill of child care. Hard-working parents like our client should not have to fear for their child's safety at a local daycare center and we are thankful nothing catastrophic happened to her."

The case is Veronica Reynolds, Individually and next friend of C.R., a minor child, vs. Miss Bloomingdale's Academy, Inc., Cause No. CC-24-00284-E in Dallas 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, bottle warmer burns, traumatic brain injuries, and catastrophic injuries. With attorneys in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, The Button Law Firm helps families move forward across the Lone Star State.

SOURCE The Button Law Firm