Daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm representing the family claim the center endangered 5-year-old by ignoring childcare laws
WICHITA FALLS, Texas, June 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A couple in Wichita Falls has filed a lawsuit against Tadpole Children’s Academy after their 5-year-old son was left unattended in a daycare van. The incident occurred when the van was transporting children from a school to the center for after-school childcare in September 2023. Parents Erick and Alexis Gardea claim their son was endangered because Tadpole Children’s Academy did not comply with Texas childcare laws specifically designed to prevent these vehicle-related neglect cases.
According to the complaint, Tadpole Children’s Academy and its driver failed to account for all children exiting the van, as required by law, and overlooked the child, who had fallen asleep in his seat. The driver parked and locked the van in a parking garage across the street from the facility, leaving the child inside alone. The suit states the unattended 5-year-old, scared, crying, and hyperventilating, was able to exit the van and wander to glass doors in the parking garage. A good Samaritan found him banging on the doors and took him to the daycare center, per the suit.
“The fact that our son was left without anyone at Tadpole Children’s Academy noticing, and then was able to get out of the daycare van on his own and be found by a stranger is terrifying,” says Alexis Gardea. “Tadpole Children’s Academy failed us and our child. He could have been kidnapped.”
Once the boy was back in their care, Tadpole Children’s Academy broke additional childcare laws when the director did not immediately notify the Gardeas, according to the suit. The complaint alleges Alexis was informed of the incident involving her son at the end of the day when she arrived to take him home.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission Child-Care Licensing Division and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services substantiated neglect claims against Tadpole Children’s Academy triggered by the incident involving the Gardeas’ son, per the suit. In fact, the center had been cited by the state for an identical situation with another child nearly two years prior and received 12 additional citations for failing to comply with Texas daycare laws between July 2019 and June 2023.
“What happened to our clients’ son at Tadpole Children’s Academy was a clear case of daycare negligence and, sadly, was not an isolated incident,” says Texas daycare injury lawyer Russell Button of The Button Law Firm who represents the Gardea family in this case. “We are committed to reinforcing the importance of child safety and ensuring no other child has a traumatic experience at this facility.”
The case is Erick Gardea and Alexis Gardea, Individually and as next friends of M.G., a minor child, vs. Tadpole Children’s Academy Daycare and Chelsee Thomas, Cause No. DC30-CV2024-1068 in Wichita 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
