Complaint filed by Finney Injury Law alleges negligent practices at A Brighter Future Childcare and Development Center violated Missouri childcare laws

ST. LOUIS, June 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- This March, when Diona Harrold-Paige picked up her two children from A Brighter Future Childcare and Development Center, she noticed her 4-year-old nonverbal autistic son had facial scratches and a bump on his forehead. After demanding to see video footage from the St. Louis daycare center that confirmed her suspicions, she took her children to a local hospital for evaluation and reported her children's injuries to authorities.

Now Harrold-Paige is suing the daycare center, claiming her son and 3-year-old daughter were injured by workers at A Brighter Future Childcare and Development Center. The allegations include hitting them with paint-stirring sticks, dragging them on the ground, and causing the boy to hit his head on a cot when it was aggressively pulled out from under him by a caregiver.

The new lawsuit details how surveillance footage at the center and an independent investigation by the state confirmed Harrold-Paige's claims and uncovered additional safety failures at A Brighter Future Childcare and Development Center. Video footage showed the caregivers using unapproved discipline techniques such as hitting her son's face and head with their hands multiple times and forcing her daughter to stand and face a wall for 47 minutes—instances that break Missouri childcare laws, per the complaint.

"What happened at A Brighter Future Childcare and Development Center has shaken our family to the core, and I hope by speaking out and filing this lawsuit, we can protect other children in our community from being harmed," says Harrold-Paige. "As a trusting mother, I never imagined a daycare center would traumatize my young children, especially my son who requires additional support and is unable to communicate. It's devastating to discover I was wrong and that my children had to suffer."

A Brighter Future Childcare and Development Center violated additional childcare laws by insufficiently watching the children at the center. Per the suit, surveillance cameras captured caregivers leaving children unattended in classrooms up to 10 times in a single day, enabling children to get into physical fights without an adult to intervene. The director at A Brighter Future Childcare and Development Center admitted that she knew caregivers were not properly supervising children and even claimed that she did not know the negligent action broke state childcare laws, according to the lawsuit. The facility was also severely understaffed, with the director spending her days caring for other children instead of supervising the employees, according to the complaint.

"This lawsuit against A Brighter Future Childcare and Development Center aims to give a voice to a little boy who does not have one and his little sister, who also suffered but couldn't speak out," says Harrold-Paige's attorney Chris Finney of Finney Injury Law. "This case highlights a serious breach of trust, as the daycare center did not deliver on its promise and duty to protect the children at the facility."

A Brighter Future Childcare and Development Center received 21 citations for safety failures from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Office of Childhood between March 2022 and April 2024. The lawsuit states five violations were issued just a month after the investigation involving Harrold-Paige's children and while the daycare center was on increased state supervision. 

The case is D.H.P., Individually and as parent and next friend of K.H. and L.S., minor children, vs. A Brighter Future Childcare and Development Center, Inc., Case No. 24SL-CC02710, Circuit Court of St. Louis County, State of Missouri. A copy of the complaint can be accessed here.

About Finney Injury Law
Finney Injury Law is a trusted personal injury firm based in St. Louis that is focused on fighting for victims impacted by life-changing incidents in childcare injury, premises liability, brain injury, and catastrophic injury cases. With experienced and award-winning attorneys serving clients in Missouri and Illinois, Finney Injury Law works tirelessly to advocate for victims and get them justice. Learn more at finneyinjurylaw.com. 

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SOURCE Finney Injury Law