Family suing day care after infant’s death, claims 4-year-old watched his brother die

MIAMI — A family is suing a Florida day care after their infant was found unresponsive and died, saying the staff lacked basic resuscitation skills.

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Keiara Whorley and Devonte Tomlin filed the lawsuit against Lincoln-Marti Child Care after their 9-month-old son, Tayvon, died while in their care. On Monday, attorneys representing the family released surveillance video showing the moments after Tayvon was found.

“The video shows that this day care did not provide its staff with adequate training,” said Stephen Cain, one of the attorneys representing the family. “They clearly did not know how to perform CPR.”

The video shows staff members making an effort to resuscitate the child, but Cain told WSVN that the video shows the CPR was neither effective nor comprehensive. One video shows the child being held face down while its back is slapped, another shows a worker attempting to offer breaths to the child’s mouth while standing and not doing chest compressions.

Tayvon Tomlin was found unresponsive on July 18 and taken to a hospital from the day care facility, WTVJ reported. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

“I’m always going to be frustrated, crying, hurt, missing my baby,” Whorley told WPLG. “But all my fight is directed to this case and figuring out what’s going on.”

In the lawsuit, attorneys for the family argue that Lincoln-Marti did not have adequate staffing, saying that there was only one provider to supervise eight infants. Florida law requires one adult for every four children under age one, WTVJ reported.

Attorneys for the family said the surveillance video shows Tayvon’s 4-year-old brother witnessed staff trying to resuscitate his infant brother. In the video, a child can be seen sitting up and watching the activity. The family said that the older child is still traumatized by what he saw.

“He was just basically saying, mom, the baby wasn’t breathing,” Whorley told WTVJ.

An attorney representing the day care told WSVN: “It is my position and that of my client that it is not appropriate to discuss matters that are currently in litigation and more importantly under investigation. My client and I are extremely sympathetic to the tragic loss experienced by this family, and as I said previously, this matter is still under investigation.”

“This case is about holding the day care accountable, bringing this family justice, and ensuring that our community’s day cares are safe so this never happens to another family again,” said Michael Levine, one of the attorneys representing the family.

The attorneys representing the family have asked the State Attorney’s Office to investigate to determine whether criminal charges should be filed, WPLG reported.

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