Unattended Child Drowned in Pool in Un-Licensed, Illegal Home Daycare
ATLANTA – Late Thursday, November 17, 2011, a Gwinnett County State Court Jury awarded $9.85 Million -- $9.8 Million in damages for the wrongful death of almost two-year-old Abiola Bankolemoh and another $50,000 in pain and suffering -- to surviving parents Kemi Green and Gbolohan Bankolemoh.
During the four-day civil trial, over which Judge John Doran presided, plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey R. Harris of Harris Penn Lowry DelCampo, along with R. Alan Cleveland of Kenny, Solomon & Medina, detailed the tragic events that led up to the death of Abiola.
Co-defendants Tanya and Shawn Moon were running an unlicensed, unregulated and illegal daycare facility out of the Buford property owned by the third defendant, Terry Moon, Shawn Moon’s father.
Believing a home-based daycare environment would be better for her two young sons, Green, a pediatric nurse, interviewed Tanya and Shawn Moon who claimed their operation was state-approved and regulated. In fact, it was not.
On March 19, 2009, while under Tanya’s care, Abiola was left unattended for a period of time. He toddled out the back of the house, fell into the unsecured pool on the property and drowned.
“This tragic case shines a bright light on two major issues: unlicensed daycare in Georgia as well as pool safety,” said Harris. “Parents should check with state agencies for licensing information before enrolling their children in any program, especially home-based ones. And, if a daycare owner has a pool, it must meet all county codes for safety and security. It is their responsibility to keep all children under their care safe. In this case, the daycare operators and property owner failed to do so on multiple levels.”
Tanya Moon is also facing criminal charges.
“Nothing is worse than losing a child,” said Cleveland. “The jury’s verdict sends a clear message about the value we place on our children and that unsafe, illegal daycare operations will not be tolerated by the citizens of Gwinnett County.”
Parents interested in checking the status of licensure of any daycare facility in Georgia may visit Georgia Department of Early Care & Learning’s website at decal.ga.gov.
Harris Penn Lowry DelCampo, LLP – www.hpllegal.com
Harris Penn Lowry, LLP, handles large-scale litigation throughout the United States. With offices in Atlanta and Savannah, Ga., the firm's four partners, Jeffrey Harris, Darren Penn, Stephen Lowry and Tony DelCampo are sought-after, highly skilled trial lawyers, with a solid track record of past trial work, including many multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements.
R. Alan Cleveland – www.alancleveland.com
Alan Cleveland obtained his Bachelor of Journalism degree in Public Relations from the University of Georgia, and earned his J.D. degree, summa cum laude, from John Marshall Law School. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Atlanta Bar Association, the Gwinnett Bar Association, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice.
Contact:
Kathy Curtin
Kathy Curtin Public Relations
770.378.0602 – cell
