A Detroit, Michigan home day care was sued by a mother who alleges the day care's negligence resulted in the death of her one-year-old daughter.

The mother alleges she dropped her toddler off at the home day care at 9:00 p.m. on February 20, 2023, on her way to work a night shift.

The plaintiff claims the owner's daughter placed the child in an adult bed upstairs and then went downstairs, leaving the toddler unattended for hours. At around 2:00 a.m., the plaintiff alleges, the owner's young son, who was also home, found the toddler wedged between the bed and the wall. The toddler was "shaking, blue, and not breathing."

The plaintiff alleges the owner's teenage daughter – the only staff member  on duty that night, did not perform CPR or call 911. Instead, she drove the child to a hospital, where the child was found to have severe brain damage from being deprived of oxygen for about 30 to 40 minutes. The child died from the oxygen deprivation on June 29, 2023.

The plaintiff alleges negligence against the business in that the day care:

• Permitted and tolerated unsafe childcare practices
• Failed to ensure infants slept in approved cribs and not in adult beds
• The owner failed to be present while her daughter was caring for the one-year-old child
• Failed to ensure a staff member was available to provide CPR in an emergency
• Failed to train and supervise her teenage daughter and sole staff member
• Failed to have a license to operate, but operated "under the auspices of being a licensed childcare provider"

Gina Kaufman "Detroit mom sues day care, alleging negligence caused her daughter's death" https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/detroit-mom-sues-daycare-alleging-negligence-caused-her-daughters-death/ar-AA1pB7F5?ocid (Aug. 28, 2024).

Commentary and Checklist
 

The Children's Safety Network cites a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics that majority of children in the U.S. are enrolled in out of home childcare programs.

Safety in home care businesses should be the top priority. The top three accidents that may happen in childcare or day care are falls, strangulation, and choking.

In the matter cited above, the claim is that the child was sleeping in an adult bed and not in a bed safe for a toddler.

There are other physical safety risks for children in day cares and homes that require the attention of safe adults:

• Review the space the children will use by getting down on the floor at a child's viewpoint to look for hazards.
• Make sure all the electrical outlets are covered to prevent electrocution.
• Use child-sized furniture, including sinks and toilets.
• Keep toys at eye-level or lower to prevent injuries.
• Make sure play areas are fenced and have adequate padding under equipment to prevent injuries when falling.
• Store medicines and chemicals out of reach in a locked area to prevent poisoning.
• Make sure shelves, bookcases, and dressers are bolted to walls to prevent death or injury by crushing.
• Use cordless curtains to prevent strangulation.
• Keep medicines and toxic products, such cleaning solutions, in the original packaging and locked in a storage compartment where children cannot see or get to them. Single-load laundry detergent packets, for example, are attractive to small children, but can be deadly.
• Although it may be convenient to have a bottle of cleaner in all the bathrooms under the sink, the more places you keep chemicals, the more likely they are to be left in an area where children have access to them.
• Watch for medication that may be brought into your home in handbags. Never refer to medication as "candy" or "food."
• Never store food and cleaning supplies or other chemicals together. A leak could poison the food.
• Don't store chemicals in recycled juice bottles or milk jugs.