Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David M. Baum, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In Illinois and other States, children are placed in day care centers by their parents with the hope and expectation that the children are provided a safe and healthy environment to learn, play, and rest. Unfortunately, thousands of children are abused and neglected every year in day care centers across Illinois and other States. Some children suffer lifelong permanent personal injuries and other children even die as a result of negligence, abuse, and / or neglect in a day care center. When a child is seriously injured or dies as a result of poor care or abuse in a day care center, a parent also suffers due to the death or injury of the child. There is no greater pain to a parent than the loss of or injury to a child due to an unexpected accident or because of the negligence of another person or day care center. Children are expected to outlive their parents not die at such a young age for no reason at all. In Springfield, Illinois, it was reported that a day care center operator (Cammie Kelly) was arrested and charged with first degree murder for the death of a child who was under the care of the Kelly and the day care center. The incident took place in January 2011 when Kaiden M. Gullidge (11 months old) was taken to a local hospital (St. John’s Hospital) after being observed to be unresponsive. An autopsy later revealed that the the cause of death of the boy was blunt force trauma. A case of this nature will hinge on witness statements and the forensic evidence uncovered at the autopsy. The timing of the injury will be an important issue to address during the criminal prosecution. The defendant will be entitled to the services of an Illinois criminal defense lawyer or the services of the local public defender’s office. An arrest does not automatically mean that there will be a plea deal or a conviction but it appears that investigators and the prosecutor’s office believe there is enough evidence to pursue this case for the tragic death of this small child. For more information, see Daycare Operator Charged with Murder for Death of Child in Illinois Daycare Center.