Chapel Hill Daycare Operator Sued for Infant’s Traumatic Brain Injury
In Durham County, the parents of Lucas Lear are suing Chapel Hill daycare operator Cheryl McAdoo Alston for the 7-month-old's permanent traumatic brain injury. The North Carolina injuries to minor complaint accuses Alston of injuring the boy, who was attending her Cheryl's Infant and Toddler Preschool, and neglecting to get him medical care in a timely manner after she allegedly hurt him. The Lears are seeking over $10,000 in damages for their son’s personal injury.
A North Carolina traumatic brain injury lawsuit is not the only legal woe that Alston must contend with. She was arrested last week for allegedly shaking Lucas so violently that now, more than two months after the injury, Lucas is under close observation at UNC Hospital’s neonatal unit. The Lears say that their son is impaired for life, and it is too soon to tell whether he will be able to walk or talk normally again.
Alston, who has spent most of her life taking care of babies, has lost her license to run her at-home day care, and an Orange County, North Carolina judge has ordered the 53-year-old woman to stay away from kids.
Alston claims that she went to go wash her hands after putting Lucas in a car seat. When she returned, he wasn’t responding. She says she grabbed the baby out of the seat and his head fell back when she tried to press him into her shoulder. Lucas’s father, Chris Lear, arrived at the day care center at this time.
Alston says she would never hurt a child. However, this is not the first time that social workers have questioned the care that Alston provides at her day care center.
In April 2008, North Carolina investigators interviewed Alston about another child under her charge who sustained injuries. The child’s guardian was worried that Alston had failed to properly supervise the boy and that another child might have fallen on him.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are usually caused by a jolt or blow to the head or an injury that is penetrating enough that the brain’s functioning is disrupted. Depending on the severity of the TBI, the injury can be mild, resulting in temporary impairment, or severe, resulting in permanent or fatal brain injuries.
Daycare operator sued over abuse, ABC Local, July 21, 2009
Day care operator charged with injuring baby, NewsObserver.com, July 22, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Traumatic Brain Injury, CDC
Abusive Head Trauma, KidsHealth.org
