North Texas child care center employee shoved toddler, yanked her by arm, lawsuit alleges
A North Texas child care center is facing a lawsuit after the parents of a 23-month-old girl say their daughter and other children endured abusive behavior such as pushing, shoving and being yanked by one arm. The parents are seeking more than $1 million in damages and are requesting a jury trial.
Tarrant County parents Brooke and Jeffrey Napier filed the suit against Park Vista Children’s Academy of Keller and Fort Worth in Tarrant County District Court on Wednesday, alleging child care staff were negligent and used inappropriate discipline tactics against their daughter, who is referred to as “N.N.” in the complaint. The center is located on Park Vista Boulevard and serves children from 6 weeks old to 12 years old, according to its website.
The suit alleges that video footage obtained through a Texas Health and Human Services investigation shows the Napiers’ daughter “being yanked up by the caregiver-employee by one arm and lifted over a shelf and dangled to the bathroom door where she is roughly put down and pushed into the door for timeout” on Aug. 8, 2023. The video shows the child crying and trying to move away from the spot before being dragged back by an employee and “roughly set up against the wall and shoved on the head,” according to the suit.
For more than 20 minutes, the video shows similar aggressive treatment of the child by the employee “who appears to spank her on the leg and push her face,” according to the suit. Other children experienced similar treatment at the child care center that also included yelling and “placing children in timeout for an unreasonable amount of time,” the suit alleges.
“No parent should have to endure the torment of discovering their child was subjected to such abusive treatment,” Brooke Napier said in a statement. “The revelations of how Park Vista Children’s Academy treated our daughter have left us angry and heartbroken.”
A Park Vista Children’s Academy representative did not respond to requests for comment as of Tuesday afternoon. An attorney representing the child care center is not yet listed in court records.
A redacted Fort Worth police report provided by the Button Law Firm, which is representing the Napiers in the case, shows the incident was reported on Sept. 5 and reiterates the details outlined in the legal complaint. Video shows the child standing before she was yanked to the ground by one arm by the employee, landing on her stomach, according to the report. The report states the case was assigned for civil investigation related to child safety and risk.
Park Vista Children’s Academy was cited by the state for “abusing a child by using corporal and prohibited punishment tactics” after the incident and had previously been cited for violations such as yelling at children, failing to use good judgment and other similar actions, according to a news release from the Button Law Firm.
“This lawsuit is a necessary step to hold Park Vista Children’s Academy accountable for the repeated abuse and inappropriate discipline tactics inflicted upon innocent children like our clients’ daughter,” said daycare injury attorney Russell Button, who is representing the Napier family. “Video footage doesn’t lie, and frankly, it is hard to watch grown adults who are responsible for the well-being of children mistreat them.”
