A California couple is suing a luxury country club daycare center after they say their 23-month-old son suffered a traumatic brain injury when an employee swung him through her legs, tossed him several feet into the air and failed to catch him, according to a lawsuit.
Matthew Kittle, Elena Kittle and their minor son, identified in the complaint only as C.K., filed the lawsuit against The Bay Clubs Company, LLC in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The lawsuit paints a disturbing picture of what the Kittle family says happened March 17, inside The Clubhouse at Bay Club El Segundo, a 14,000-square-foot childcare center advertised as a place for children to participate in supervised play and organized activities.
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Surveillance video, provided to Fox News Digital by Rosen Saba, LLP, captured the heart-stopping moment a toddler was thrown into the air by a worker, crashing to the ground just before the adult fell on top of the child.
According to the complaint, Matthew Kittle dropped off C.K. at the El Segundo Clubhouse at about 8:35 a.m. and told staff he planned to pick him up at 11:30 a.m. The suit says Kittle also told the club he would be at Manhattan Country Club, about a mile away, while his son was in the Bay Club’s care.
Less than an hour later, at about 9:20 a.m., the lawsuit alleges, a female Bay Club 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.
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The employee failed to catch him, the lawsuit says. C.K. allegedly fell to the hardwood floor, smashed his head and then the employee fell backward and landed on top of him.
The complaint includes still images it says are from Bay Club’s camera system. The filing alleges other adults in the room appeared “aghast” at the severity of the incident.
Ryan Saba, an attorney for the Kittle family, accused the club of failing the child and his parents.
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“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, of Rosen Saba, LLP, told Fox News Digital.
The lawsuit alleges Bay Club staff then downplayed what happened.
At 9:28 a.m., Elena Kittle received a missed call from the Bay Club, according to the complaint. Two minutes later, Matthew Kittle received a call saying C.K. had “fallen” and had since “calmed down,” the suit alleges. 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, the lawsuit says.
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, according to the complaint.
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, according to the filing.
After returning home, the toddler was “extremely drowsy, lethargic, and irritable,” the lawsuit says.
The complaint alleges 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,” according to the complaint. Doctors diagnosed him with blunt head trauma, a concussion, also described in the filing as a traumatic brain injury, and a facial abrasion, the lawsuit says.
The suit alleges 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 lawsuit says 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 lawsuit says.
The complaint also alleges 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 complaint says. 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, punitive damages, civil and statutory penalties, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial.
The Bay Club said in a statement to Fox News Digital that it could not discuss pending litigation.
“We are unable to comment on ongoing litigation. At the Bay Club, the safety of our members, team members, and the families we serve is our highest priority,” the company said.
