A California couple has filed a lawsuit against a luxury country club daycare center after their 23-month-old son suffered a traumatic brain injury when an employee allegedly swung him through her legs, tossed him several feet into the air, and failed to catch him. The incident, captured on surveillance video, occurred on March 17 at The Clubhouse at Bay Club El Segundo, a 14,000-square-foot childcare facility in Los Angeles County.
Matthew and Elena Kittle, along with their minor son identified in the complaint as C.K., filed the lawsuit against The Bay Clubs Company, LLC in Los Angeles County Superior Court. According to the complaint, Matthew Kittle dropped off his son at approximately 8:35 a.m. and informed staff that he would be at the Manhattan Country Club, about a mile away, while his son was in the daycare's care. The lawsuit alleges that less than an hour later, at around 9:20 a.m., a female employee was holding C.K. by his hands when she intentionally swung him between her legs, hoisted him over her head, and released his hands while he was about six feet above the ground.
The employee failed to catch the toddler, according to the lawsuit. C.K. fell to the hardwood floor, smashing his head, and then the employee fell backward and landed on top of him. The complaint includes still images from the Bay Club's camera system and alleges that other adults in the room appeared «aghast» at the severity of the incident. Surveillance video provided to Fox News Digital by Rosen Saba, LLP, shows the heart-stopping moment the child was thrown into the air and crashed to the ground.
Ryan Saba, an attorney for the Kittle family, accused the club of failing the child and his parents. «When a parent entrusts their child to a daycare, they expect the employees to be properly trained and responsible. The Bay Club failed on both accounts,» Saba said. The lawsuit alleges that Bay Club staff initially downplayed what happened. At 9:28 a.m., Elena Kittle received a missed call from the Bay Club. Two minutes later, Matthew Kittle received a call saying C.K. had «fallen» and had since «calmed down.» A staff member allegedly said she did not think the parents needed to pick him up but wanted them to know an incident had occurred.
Matthew Kittle called back at 9:34 a.m. and, after being told he could not speak directly to Clubhouse staff, relayed that because he had been told C.K. was calm and not injured, they would pick him up at the end of his scheduled session. However, at about 9:45 a.m., Bay Club called again and said C.K. needed to be picked up because staff had not been able to settle him down. When Matthew Kittle arrived around 10:10 a.m., the suit says, he saw injuries far worse than what had been described. The child's right eye was swollen shut, the right side of his face was badly bruised, and his mouth was swollen.
After returning home, the toddler was «extremely drowsy, lethargic, and irritable,» the lawsuit says. The complaint alleges that Elena Kittle later spoke with a Bay Club employee who identified herself as the aquatics director and said C.K. had been held by an employee who fell while squatting, with the child only about 1.5 feet above the ground. The lawsuit says that account was false. C.K. was taken to a local hospital later that morning for evaluation of blunt head trauma. Doctors diagnosed him with blunt head trauma, a concussion—described in the filing as a traumatic brain injury—and a facial abrasion.
The suit alleges that medical staff questioned whether the child's injuries matched the club's description of a short fall. The next day, C.K. was taken to his pediatrician, where the doctor also questioned whether the injuries were consistent with a fall of roughly 1.5 feet. The Kittles repeatedly pressed Bay Club for video, according to the complaint. On March 21, the company provided the video to the parents, who were «shocked» by the fall and by what they say was an effort to conceal the truth. The complaint also alleges that Bay Club's incident report was false and misleading. According to the lawsuit, the report said the employee lost her footing while picking up C.K. and «caught» him, helping avoid him hitting the ground. The lawsuit alleges the video proved otherwise.
The family says C.K. continued suffering symptoms in the days and weeks after the incident, including sensitivity to light and sound, irritability, irregular sleep, lethargy, and attachment issues. On April 9, C.K. was evaluated at the UCLA Concussion Clinic, where a neurology specialist noted he was still experiencing concussion symptoms. The lawsuit alleges he continues to suffer symptoms from the traumatic brain injury, including hearing loss. The suit alleges negligence, negligence per se, negligent hiring, supervision and retention, negligent infliction of emotional distress, fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and battery. The family is seeking damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses.
