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Now-closed Lombard daycare at center of Elmhurst child death suit

The Elmhurst Press - 2/16/2017

A now shuttered Lombard day care center and one its owners are facing a lawsuit after a three-month-old girl died at the facility last November. The complaint was filed Jan. 31 by the Chicago-based personal injury firm Corboy and Demetrio on behalf of the child's parents Katlyn and Sean McDaniel against Tender Hart's Family Home Care and Learning, Inc. and one of the owners of the facility, Jason Hart. According to the suit, McDaniel's three-month-old daughter, Tessa, was left in the care of the facility, located at 28 South Lodge Lane, on Nov. 15 of last year. The suit alleges that Hart was left alone at the daycare center to care for 20 children of mixed ages up to 5-years-old. Hart allegedly took Tessa from her crib, laid her on her stomach on a mat and left her unattended to warm a bottle, according to the suit. Patrick Murphy, a partner with Corboy and Demetrio, said that either Hart or a mother of another child at the daycare center found Tessa "blue" approximately 30 minutes after Hart had allegedly left her unattended. Murphy said Hart called 911 and tried to resuscitate the child. Paramedics and other medical personnel were unable to save Tessa, he said. Murphy said the facility operated out of a home and that Nora, Tessa's toddler sister, also attended the day care and was present the day her sister died. "Nobody is saying Mr. Hart is a monster or intended to physically harm or kill Tessa," Murphy said. "What happened here, however, was a profound lapse of judgment to where his care and supervision is being divided between 20 children and you physically cannot do that." State rules mandate the maximum number of children under the age of 12 one caregiver can watch alone in a group day care home is capped at eight unless all children are school-age. According to the DCFS website, the daycare has 13 rule violations pending against them. Murphy said the preliminary cause of Tessa's death is undetermined, and the suit seeks damages in excess of $50,000. Deputy Director of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Communications Veronica Resa wrote in an email that the agency is investigating the incident and the investigation is pending. The daycare is not currently operating, she wrote. The daycare is a state-licensed facility under the name Kimberly Hart, according to the DCFS website. Requests for comment from Lombard Police Department and the DuPage County Coroner's Office were not returned prior to deadline. Hart also did not return a request for comment.