The family of 2-year-old Jalen Branch junior is suing a Calumet City daycare. It’s been one month since the child died during naptime at that facility, after suffering a medical incident
New details about what happened the day a 2-year-old boy died during a medical episode at a suburban daycare have been released as the family of the child files a lawsuit against the daycare involved.
According to the lawsuit, the incident happened on Feb. 20, when 2-year-old Jaylin Branch was put down for a nap at Grandma Jones daycare in Calumet City.
Police were called to the daycare just after 1 p.m. for a report of an unresponsive child.
According to a police report, officers arrived to find an employee at the daycare performing CPR on Jaylin. Though officers said they could not see any signs of injury on the child, body camera footage from officers at the scene showed staff telling police the child suffered from seizures.
Staff at the scene told police Jaylin went down for a nap at 12 p.m. but at 1 p.m., staff noticed he had vomited, his lips were blue and he was unresponsive.
In the police report, the officer at the scene said he reviewed video footage from the daycare, which showed Jaylin was still awake and had rolled over in his sleep around 12:30 p.m. He was discovered unresponsive minutes after 1 p.m. and first responders were called.
In the body camera footage, officers arrived to find a woman crying as she performed chest compressions on Jaylin. One officer offered to take over for her until the ambulance arrived, to which she agreed.
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Family members, however, said staff failed to follow their "action plan" protocol and provide proper supervision and care for their son. His mother, Jasmine Bailey, filed a lawsuit seeking a jury trial and at least a $50,000 judgment against the daycare.
"These parents believe that they did find high-quality daycare, they worked with that daycare to create an action plan to eliminate this from ever happening because, for whatever reason, that day baby J was left unattended," Attorney Cierra Norris said in a press conference Thursday. "There was no one to see his seizure and it was not in sight and therefore the action plan that they put in place basically meant nothing because they couldn't catch what happened."
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"It's really nothing that would bring my son back. I just want justice," Bailey said.
In a statement, the daycare said they were "deeply saddened by Jaylin's death.
"We are deeply saddened by the death of Jaylin Branch and express heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones," the facility said. "We are reviewing the lawsuit that has been filed against the Grandma Jones Daycare facility in Calumet City, IL and will respond accordingly through the legal process. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to provide any further comment."
