The family of Tessa McDaniel, 3 1/2 months old, has filed a wrongful death Tender Hart's Family Home Care and Learning, Inc., in Lombard, Illinois after the infant died on November 15, 2016 after being left unsupervised.
Jason Hart, one of the owners, alone, was attempting to supervise and care for 20 children of mixed ages up to 5 years old. This was in violation of the State of Illinois Licensing Standards for Day Care Homes, which requires one adult for every four infants. According to the police report, Hart told authorities that he placed Tessa on her stomach on a blanket and left to get a bottle. As much as a half hour later, Tessa was found on the blanket not breathing.
“The main reason for this lawsuit is child safety,” said Corboy & Demetrio Partner Thomas Demetrio. “Tessa’s parents do not want this tragedy to happen to any other children,” he added.
Demetrio, along with Corboy & Demetrio Partners Rene Torrado and Francis Patrick Murphy, represent Sean McDaniel, Tessa’s father; Katlyn McDaniel, Tessa’s mother; and Nora McDaniel, Tessa’s minor sister.
"Licensing Standards for Day Care Homes exist for the safety of vulnerable children and must never be violated," said Torrado. "Attempting to supervise and care for 20 children by himself was a recipe for disaster.”
Illinois DCFS has closed Tender Hart’s during its investigation into eight licensing violations.
Demetrio and Murphy successfully represented the family of Benjamin Kingan against a day care facility in Lake County after he was killed by a worker who was also attending to multiple toddlers alone and in violation of state licensing standards.
The case is Katlyn McDaniel, Special Administrator of the Estate of Tessa McDaniel v. Tender Hart’s Family Home Care and Learning Inc. and Jason Hart, filed in DuPage Co. Circuit Court on 1-31-17, #2017L120.
Corboy & Demetrio is one of the nation’s premier law firms. The personal injury law firm represents individuals and their families in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases and has acquired more than $4 billion in settlements and verdicts of which more than 600 are in excess of $1 million.
