Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Scott Zahler, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Elijah Johnson, nine-years-old, was treated for severe personal injuries at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. The boy’s family alleges that he was a victim of a brutal attack at an Atlanta day care center, but the day care center claims that the boy injured himself.
Elijah’s mother, Yalishia Reese said that she found her child in distress when she arrived at the It Takes a Village daycare center in Stone Mountain. The director of the daycare met her at the door and said that Elijah was not acting like himself; the director said the boy was banging his head against the wall, according to Reese. The staff then called the paramedics, and Reese said that they called the police because “it looked like he had been assaulted.” Reese added that her son had bruises and contusions all over his face and bite marks on his back.
Elijah has a rare genetic disorder that is similar to autism called Angelman Syndrome. The family’s attorney, B.J. Bernstein, said that “He doesn’t speak, but he responds with smiling and loving and everything good.” Bernstein said that the day care center’s version of the incident does not match the child’s general demeanor or the severity of the injuries that he has suffered. The hospital staff is still conducting tests to determine the extent of his injuries, said Elijah’s family. For more information on this topic, see Family: Boy Badly Beaten at Daycare.