Thurman v. Applebrook Country Dayschool Inc.

Expert testimony regarding infant sleep positioning is admissible in a negligent childcare supervision case to assist the jury in determining whether the childcare provider breached its duty of care.

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We granted a writ of certiorari to the Court of Appeals in Applebrook Country Dayschool v. Thurman , 264 Ga. App. 591 591 SE2d 406 2003, and posed this question: Is expert testimony regarding infant sleep positioning admissible in a child care supervision case and, if so, for what purpose Leslie and Garry Thurman’s son, Garrison, an eight-week old infant, died in the care of Applebrook Country Dayschool. The evidence demonstrated that Lori Queen, a caregiver in Applebrook’s infant room, placed Garrison in a crib on his stomach for a nap. Sometime later, another caregiver observed Garrison stirring; she patted him on his back and he “settled right down.” After 20minutes, a third caregiver, Jackie Stone noticed that Garrison’s hand was pale. When she turned Garrison over, she saw a small amount of blood coming from his nose. She summoned help and administered CPR. Applebrook’s staff continued to administer CPR until an ambulance came to take Garrison to a hospital. When he arrived at the hospital, Garrison was in cardiac arrest. Although he was revived, he died the next day.

The Thurmans brought suit against Applebrook, alleging negligent child care supervision. At trial, Dr. Linda Miller, an expert in the field of child supervision, testified that the standard of care for supervision in a daycare setting “is that a teacher is aware and can visually supervise the children in the room.” In this regard, she averred that teachers can monitor sleeping infants better when they are placed on their backs. She also testified that since 1994, the well-settled standard of care in the daycare industry requires that infants be placed on their backs to sleep. Asked if Applebrook breached the standard of care by placing Garrison on his stomach, Dr. Miller replied: “Since 1992, and even earlier than that, there have been articles and public campaigns . . . to get both parents and teachers to put babies to sleep on their backs.”

Thurman v. Applebrook Country Dayschool Inc.

Expert testimony regarding infant sleep positioning is admissible in a negligent childcare supervision case to assist the jury in determining whether the childcare provider breached its duty of care.

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