2 Year Old Girl Dies From Poor Supervision in Texas; Information Prevented From Going Public
A loophole in Texas day care licensing may to be blame for preventing information about the death of 2 year old Isabella Estep from becoming public. Isabella had put a small rock taken from the playground in her mouth. She was not under appropriate supervision on the playground and by the time she returned to the classroom, she was choking on the rock. She lay unconscious on the floor of the classroom and, while the children around her had began to take notice, her teacher, Mia Jennings, did not acknowledge the situation until her lips had turned blue. Even though Jennings eventually noticed, she was not trained in first aid and had to carry Isabella to find help.
Unfortunately, too much time had elapsed and Isabella died.
It was determined by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, who is in charge of licensing day cares, that her death was the result of poor supervision. It was later found that Jennings had no high school education or first aid training—which violated Texas law and resulted in charges against the owner of the school, Woodbridge Day School, for neglectful supervision among other things.
With the perceived threat of being shut down, the owner’s husband, Robert Hall announced his intention to sell the school to allow the teachers there to keep their jobs. As it turns out, there is a loophole in Texas state law that allows teacher’s names to be removed from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services website listing if the ownership changes hands. This means that the facility can continue without public information about Isabella’s death and the tragic cause.
The current lawsuit, brought about by Isabella’s mother Marcelina Osorio, accuses the day care center “failed to provide the minimum degree of competency and good judgment.” The attorney on the case is Jeff Rasansky, a Dallas attorney with special expertise in day care injury cases.
I wish Jeff the best of luck in fighting for this mother. Accidents involving children are particularly devastating and it is important to bring these accidents out in the light in order to avoid them in the future.
Tags: Dallas day care injury attorney, Dallas personal injury lawyer, Isabella Estep, Jeff Rasansky, loophole in Texas law, Marcelina Osorio, Mia Jennings, neglectful supervision, Neyse Hall, Robert Hall, Texas day care tragedy, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Woodbridge Day School
