The parents of A.S. allege the facility\u2019s owners \u2014 Vijaykumar Selvaraj Elango and his wife, Vithya \u2014 attempted to cover up incidents of mistreatment from caregivers by deleting video footage that shows the 3-year-old being yanked by his arms and shoved into a chair at a table. This caused the boy to strike and cut his leg, and he is seen limping to get a paper towel for his bleeding leg while a caregiver ignores him, the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n
The center, located at 7040 Independent Parkway, is also accused of failing to report this incident and other ones to the state in accordance with state law.<\/p>\n
Kids \u2018R\u2019 Kids of Lawler Farm and Elango did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was horrified to learn that my 3-year-old son was harmed by the people we trusted to keep him safe, and they lied to me,\u201d Benavidez said in a statement. \u201cWe are filing this lawsuit to get answers and to make sure Kids \u2018R\u2019 Kids of Lawler Farm accepts responsibility for the physical injuries and trauma our sweet son suffered.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawsuit is the second one filed<\/a> against the childcare center since March, when another family accused Kids \u2018R\u2019 Kids of similar mistreatment of their 3-year-old child. In a response filed in court in that case, the daycare denied the allegations. That case is scheduled for a trial in November, according to court records.<\/p>\n Details of the claims<\/p>\n Benavidez was notified in early July 2024 by Kids \u2018R\u2019 Kids management that she would be contacted by an abuse and neglect investigator from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services because caregivers in her son\u2019s class subjected him and \u201cseveral other children\u201d to inappropriate discipline and mistreatment \u201cseveral weeks earlier,\u201d according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n \u201cFifteen separate videos caught the two Kids \u2018R\u2019 Kids caregivers using excessive physical force with multiple children \u2014 pulling, yanking, shoving, and striking them. Video footage from June 5, 2024, showed Kids \u2018R\u2019 Kids\u2019 caregivers inappropriately yanking three-year-old A.S. by his arms, spanking A.S., and smacking A.S.,\u201d according to the suit.<\/p>\n Before the incident leading to his leg bleeding, the parents say their son came home from the center with unexplained injuries such as a lip wound caused by his teeth biting the inside of his lip. The complaint says the parents were told the injury was caused by normal toddler play.<\/p>\n The lawsuit also alleges Elango attempted to hide the incidents by deleting video footage and instructing a staff member to do the same. The staff member defied management and reported the incidents to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, according to the lawsuit. An investigation by the state agency found multiple children, including 3-year-old A.S., endured inappropriate discipline and mistreatment, the suit states.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile DFPS was investigating these incidents, Kids \u2018R\u2019 Kids of Lawler Farm was placed on a safety plan. However, during a follow-up compliance inspection, the state agency discovered the daycare center continued to ignore the additional parameters intended to keep children at the center safe,\u201d according to The Button Law Firm, which is representing the family in the case.<\/p>\n Kids \u2018R\u2019 Kids of Lawler Farm has received 28 citations from July 2024 to present day, according to the suit. State compliance data shows the center had no citations on its last two inspections on March 20 and April 17.<\/p>\n The latest citation for the center, dated on March 11, notes that a caregiver used corporal punishment against a child.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is sufficient evidence to support the allegations that a caregiver used prohibited punishment when she hit a child on the face and called him a \u2018baby,\u2019\u201d according to the citation.<\/p>\n On the same day as the incidents involving the 3-year-old boy that are outlined in the lawsuit, WhatsApp text messages between management and staff show that four children from another classroom were left unsupervised outside on a splash pad, the complaint states. In a text message, Elango said in response to this: \u201cGreat job from our teachers! Time for a gold medal.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time as the state investigation involving A.S., another staff member of Kids \u2018R\u2019 Kids Lawler Farm was observed \u201cforcefully handling children and hitting a child on their back in frustration while yelling and cursing at other staff members,\u201d according to the suit. The caregiver was fired the same day after she returned from her break smelling like marijuana, the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a blatant pattern of disregard for child safety at Kids \u2018R\u2019 Kids of Lawler Farm, and it needs to stop,\u201d said lawyer Russell Button of The Button Law Firm. \u201cIt is completely unacceptable for a daycare center to enable the mistreatment of a toddler by trying to sweep it under the rug. We are determined to hold Kids \u2018R\u2019 Kids of Lawler Farm accountable for its multiple safety failures.\u201d<\/p>\n The parents of A.S. are requesting a jury trial and damages of more than $250,000 but less than $1 million.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n
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