An alleged mistake made by daycare workers in the Texas Hill Country led to an infant suffering major injuries that the daycare reportedly tried to cover up. His mother is now demanding justice and taking the business to court in a lawsuit.
Denise Gauna is suing A Child’s Place Learning Center in Kerrville. She claims that her 9-month-old son sustained a head injury and fractured clavicle when workers did not strap him into a tall highchair earlier this March, according to a news release.
Gauna says the caregivers at A Child’s Place attempted to cover up the incident when she picked up her son at the end of the day. She says her son had a knot on the right side of his head and was visibly uncomfortable.
When asked about the injury, workers gave her a vague response and told her the baby “hit his face on a table/floor.” It wasn't till the second time that workers finally revealed the truth, according to the suit.
The release stated that daycare workers left the infant in pain for eight hours instead of immediately seeking medical attention or alerting Gauna, which is required by Texas childcare laws.
“My world turned upside down when I saw my baby with a knot on his head at A Child’s Place,” Gauna said in the release. “It was obvious that he was not okay, and the center had the nerve to let him suffer while trying to cover up the facility’s failures. No child or parent should have to endure what we experienced at A Child’s Place.”
The worker in charge of Gauna’s baby told Texas Health and Human Service investigators she was unaware that not using safety straps in a highchair posed an injury risk for infants, as it was common practice at A Child’s Place not to use them.
In the investigation, the agency learned that the worker had no formal childcare training from A Child’s Place and told officials she only completed a four-hour orientation at the center. Investigators also found video footage of another child climbing into an infant seat and falling backward without anyone noticing, per the suit.
The state agency issued three citations to A Child’s Place in the investigation for violating childcare licensing laws related to caregivers not demonstrating competency or good judgment, not securing infants in a highchair with the provided safety straps, and not providing adequate supervision.
The latest citations add to the over dozen citations issued to A Child's Place between September 2019 and March 2024, including one for failing to have safety straps on infant feeding chairs.
“This lawsuit is a stark reminder of the importance of safety protocols and thorough training in daycare centers. This baby’s suffering could have been prevented with proper supervision and care," said daycare and childcare injury lawyer Russell Button of The Button Law Firm in the release.
MySA has reached out to A Child's Place facility director for comments on the lawsuit.
Read the full lawsuit below:
Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled Kerrville in the headline.