A Florida family whose infant died after being left for hours in an unattended daycare van should receive tens of millions of dollars from a Jacksonville preschool for the baby’s wrongful death, but they are not sure when that will happen, according to reports.
The insurance company representing the childcare provider said they are not responsible for the judgment because the policy was canceled weeks before the baby’s premature demise.
Brooklyn’s mother, Lancia Isaac, won the wrongful death lawsuit against the daycare and was awarded $21 million in damages, which was expected to come from the daycare’s insurance company.
However, Markel Insurance Company filed a federal lawsuit that claims the company is not liable for the May 2019 death of Brooklyn Blount, a 4-month-old baby who died while in the care of its former policyholders. The company argues, according to KENS 5, that Ewing’s Love & Hope Preschool & Academy canceled the policy “prior to May 22, 2019 [the date of the child’s death] and, thus, there is no coverage.”
The policy was terminated by Markel Insurance on Monday, May 6, 2019, a little over two weeks before the tragedy, because the daycare lapsed in payment.
Darryl Ewing, the owner, and his daycare knew this was coming. On Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, attorneys for the party filed a complaint against the insurance company in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, claiming its refusal to pay the damages is a breach of contract and included a letter from the insurance company’s lawyers declining coverage.
Almost four years ago, Baby Brooklyn was accidentally left in the center’s hot van by Ewing for close to five hours without ventilation or air conditioning. The temperatures on that day soared, reaching 91 degrees from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. when the baby was strapped in her car seat in the vehicle.
According to the arrest report, Ewing had picked up the little girl, her two siblings, and a few other children but forgot to take the baby out of the car seat when he arrived at his business around 8:30 a.m.
The baby was discovered unresponsive in the vehicle only after Isaac called later in the day to schedule the pick-up of the children, according to News 4 Jax.
Baby Brooklyn was rushed to Wolfson Children’s Hospital. However, doctors were unable to revive her.
Authorities arrested Ewing and charged him with child neglect. Those charges were later upgraded to aggravated manslaughter of a child. The lawsuit was filed after the criminal case was resolved.
The Florida Department of Children and Families also stepped in and ordered the immediate suspension of the facility’s license.
On Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2021, Ewing took a plea deal regarding Baby Brooklyn’s death. His lawyers negotiated terms that included a sentence of three years of house arrest followed by 18 years of probation. He also has restrictions regarding any engagement with children and was ordered to complete 500 community service hours, First Coast News reports.
