California Parents Sue Fancy Daycare After Their Toddler Gets Badly Hurt

What’s This Story About?

Imagine you leave your tiny child at a place that promises to keep them safe, but something terrible happens. That’s what a family says occurred.

• A mom and dad named Matthew and Elena Kittle say their 23-month-old son (called C.K. in court papers) got a very bad head injury at a daycare.
• They are suing (asking a court for help) a company called The Bay Clubs Company, LLC, which runs a luxury country club daycare in California.
• They say a daycare worker threw their son into the air and didn’t catch him, and then the daycare tried to hide what really happened.

Where and When Did It Happen?

• The place is The Clubhouse at Bay Club El Segundo, a 14,000-square-foot (that’s like a few houses big) childcare center in California.
• It is advertised as a fun, supervised play space where kids do organized activities.
• The incident happened on March 17, 2025 (we know the year from photo captions), inside that daycare.

What Did the Daycare Worker Do? (In Simple Terms)

According to the lawsuit and a surveillance video (a recording from the daycare’s cameras), here is what the family says happened:

• A female employee held little C.K. by his hands.
• She swung him between her legs like a silly game.
• She lifted him over her head.
• She let go of his hands while he was about 6 feet above the ground (that’s as high as a tall grown-up!).
• She failed to catch him.
• C.K. fell to the hard wooden floor and smashed his head.
• The employee fell backward and landed on top of the child.

Important: The video was given to Fox News by the family’s lawyers (Rosen Saba, LLP). Other adults in the room looked "aghast" (very shocked and scared) at how bad it was.

A Step-by-Step Timeline of That Morning

Here’s how the day unfolded, per the court complaint:

1. 8:35 a.m.: Matthew Kittle drops C.K. at the daycare. He tells staff he’ll pick him up at 11:30 a.m. and will be at a nearby club (Manhattan Country Club) about a mile away.
2. 9:20 a.m.: The worker does the dangerous swing and toss described above. C.K. gets hurt.
3. 9:28 a.m.: Elena Kittle gets a missed call from the Bay Club.
4. 9:30 a.m.: Matthew gets a call saying C.K. had "fallen" and had since "calmed down." Staff said they didn’t think parents needed to pick him up.
5. 9:34 a.m.: Matthew calls back. He is told he can’t speak to the daycare staff directly. Because he heard C.K. was calm and not injured, he says he’ll pick him up at the normal time.
6. 9:45 a.m.: The daycare calls again, saying C.K. needs to be picked up because they couldn’t settle him down.
7. ~10:10 a.m.: Matthew arrives and sees injuries much worse than described—right eye swollen shut, right face badly bruised, mouth swollen.
8. Later that morning: C.K. is taken to a local hospital for a head check.
9. Next day: The family visits their pediatrician (kid doctor).
10. March 21: The Bay Club finally gives the parents the surveillance video. They are "shocked" by what they see and say it was an effort to conceal the truth.
11. April 9: C.K. is evaluated at the UCLA Concussion Clinic.

How Hurt Was the Little Boy?

The lawsuit lists many ouchies and problems:

• Right away: Right eye swollen shut, right side of face bruised, mouth swollen.
• At home after: Extremely drowsy (sleepy), lethargic (no energy), and irritable (cranky).
• Hospital diagnosis: "Blunt head trauma" (a hard hit to the head), a concussion (a kind of traumatic brain injury), and a facial abrasion (scrape).
• Pediatrician visit: The doctor also questioned whether a tiny fall could cause such hurts.
• Ongoing symptoms: Sensitivity to light and sound, irritability, irregular sleep, lethargy, attachment issues (being extra clingy), and later hearing loss.
• UCLA clinic: A neurology specialist (brain doctor) noted he was still experiencing concussion symptoms.

Important: Medical staff reportedly asked if the injuries matched the daycare’s story of a short fall. They didn’t think so.

What the Family Says the Daycare Did Wrong

The Kittles, through their attorney Ryan Saba, accuse the club of failing the child and parents. Saba said: "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."

The complaint adds:

• Staff downplayed the incident in phone calls (saying he just fell and was calm).
• An aquatics director later told Elena a false story: that C.K. was held by an employee who fell while squatting, with child only 1.5 feet above ground.
• The daycare’s incident report was false and misleading—it claimed the employee lost footing while picking him up and "caught" him, avoiding the ground. The video proved otherwise.

The Lawsuit: What the Parents Want

The family filed the paper in Los Angeles County Superior Court. They allege:

• Negligence (carelessness)
• Negligence per se (breaking a rule that caused harm)
• Negligent hiring, supervision, and retention (hiring/supervising bad workers)
• Negligent infliction of emotional distress (causing sadness/worry)
• Fraud (lying)
• Intentional infliction of emotional distress
• Battery (harmful touching)

They are seeking:

• Damages (money to make up for harm)
• Punitive damages (extra money to punish)
• Civil and statutory penalties
• Attorneys’ fees
• A jury trial (a group of regular people decides the case)

What the Daycare Said Back

The Bay Club gave a statement to Fox News Digital:

• "We are unable to comment on ongoing litigation." (They can’t talk because the case is in court.)
• "At the Bay Club, the safety of our members, team members, and the families we serve is our highest priority."

Summary

A California couple says their toddler was badly injured when a daycare worker at a fancy country club tossed him six feet in the air and failed to catch him. They say the daycare then lied about the fall, claiming it was a tiny tumble. Videos and doctors show the truth was much worse: the boy had a brain injury and still suffers. The family is suing for many reasons including carelessness and fraud, while the daycare says it can’t comment but cares about safety.

FAQ

1. What is a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in kid words?
It’s when a bump or shake hurts the brain so it doesn’t work quite right. A concussion is one type of TBI. It can make you sleepy, cranky, or sensitive to light.

2. Why are the parents suing the daycare?
They say the worker threw their son dangerously, the daycare didn’t train staff properly, and then they lied about it to cover up. They want money and a fair trial.

3. Did the daycare admit they did something wrong?
No. They told Fox News they cannot talk about the lawsuit but said safety is their top priority.

4. What is a concussion?
A concussion is a kind of brain injury caused by a hit to the head or body that makes the brain jiggle. It can cause headaches, confusion, and sleepiness.

5. What happens next in the story?
The case will go through the court system. The family wants a jury to hear the evidence, including the video, and decide if the daycare must pay.