BECKLEY – A woman is suing Happy Jack’s Family Day Care for her infant son’s death.
Susan Gregory is doing business as Happy Jack’s Family Day Care.
Ashley Remillard; Richmond Insurance Center; Allstate Property & Casualty Insurance Company; and Mike Richmond, individually and as agent of Allstate were also named as defendants in the suit.
Marvetta Jill Meadows retained the childcare/daycare services of Gregory for her infant son, Marshall James Meadows-Asbury, according to a complaint filed Dec. 5 in Raleigh Circuit Court.
Gregory offered the daycare services in her home in Daniels under the business name Happy Jack’s and held herself out to the public as owning and operating a fully licensed and insured daycare service, according to the suit.
Meadows claims on Dec. 7, 2015, she transported her son to Happy Jack’s and informed Gregory that he had recently learned to roll over onto his stomach if laid down on his back and that he could not roll back over onto his back once he had rolled onto his stomach.
Gregory then informed her employee, Remillard, of the information that Meadows had told her, according to the suit.
Meadows claims the defendants all owed a duty to exercise reasonable care and caution in the care of Meadows-Asbury and to keep the premises in a safe condition, free from defects and dangerous or deadly conditions.
On that day, Gregory and/or Remillard placed Meadows-Asbury in a crib, in a closed room by himself at approximately 1:30 p.m. and, at approximately 3:45 p.m., he was discovered by Gregory and/or Remillard in the crib, lying face down and unresponsive, according to the suit.
Meadows claims the defendants owed a duty to supervise Meadows-Asbury while he was sleeping, as they failed to check on him between 1:30 p.m. and the time he was found unresponsive.
Meadows-Asbury suffered fatal injuries while in the care and custody of Gregory, Remillard and Happy Jack’s, according to the suit.
Meadows claims Gregory and Happy Jack’s failed to properly train and educate staff and that Meadows-Asbury would not have died but for the acts and/or omissions of Gregory, Remillard and Happy Jack’s.
The defendant insurance companies and agents wrongly informed Gregory that her Allstate policy of insurance provided adequate coverage for an in-home daycare when it did not, according to the suit.
Meadows is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is being represented by John J. Mize of Mize Law Firm.
Raleigh Circuit Court case number: 17-C-688
