[Sportschosun reporter Jang Jong-ho] A disturbing incident at a child care facility in the United States has come to light after a staff member tossed a 23-month-old child into the air and failed to catch him, causing him to fall to the floor. The child suffered serious injuries, including traumatic brain damage and hearing loss, and the parents have filed a lawsuit against the facility.
According to The California Post, the accident took place in March 2025 at a child care facility in El Segundo, California.
The facility was reportedly offering child care at no extra cost while golf club members enjoyed their rounds.
It was later revealed that the facility did not have official state authorization.
According to the complaint, the 23-month-old boy was lifted by a staff member, who held both of his arms and raised him high above her head. The worker then failed to catch him properly, and both the child and the employee fell to the floor.
Video of the incident shows the child being lifted to a considerable height before falling straight down. The parents said he dropped from about 1.8 meters and struck his head hard.
In the complaint, the parents said the child suffered traumatic brain injury and hearing loss in the accident, and that the aftereffects are still continuing.
After the incident, the facility called the father and explained, "He fell, but he has calmed down now, and it does not seem necessary for you to come pick him up."
About 15 minutes later, however, the facility called again and changed its account, saying the child was still crying and that the parents needed to take him home.
The facility told the parents it was a "minor injury," and a staff member said during the phone call that the child had fallen from a height of about 45 centimeters.
But when the parents picked up the child, his condition was far worse than described.
"The right side of the child's face was severely bruised, his right eye was so swollen that he could barely open it, and his mouth was also badly swollen," the parents said. "After we got home, he became extremely sleepy and lethargic."
The parents immediately took the child to the emergency room at Torrance Hospital, where medical staff diagnosed him with traumatic brain injury.
They later obtained and reviewed video from the time of the accident and confirmed that the child had been lifted to a height of about 1.8 meters before falling, contrary to the facility's explanation.
The parents are asking for damages to be determined by a jury trial and are seeking to hold the facility liable for negligence, assault, fraud, and emotional distress.
Jang Jong-ho bellho@sportschosun.com
