Mom Claims Daycare Overdosed Her Son

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CN) - Daycare staff gave a 4-year-old child a twentyfold overdose of medicine and didn't bother to call his parents for hours as he sat lethargic and unresponsive, the mother claims in court.

Cynthia Butler sued Today's Child Learning Center, of Raymore, Mo., in Jackson County Court. She claims her son Isaac's father dropped off the child on Dec. 9, 2011, with the child's autism medication, Clonidine, and that the staff was told of the proper dosage.

"Specifically, the staff was advised that the proper dosage was 2 milliliters (2mL) and, despite being provided this information, the staff of defendant nevertheless administered two spoonfuls of Clonidine which was approximately twenty times the prescribed dosage," the complaint states.

"When mother went to pick minor up from the daycare facility at the designated time, minor was lethargic and nonresponsive; when the mother inquired, it was at that time she discovered that minor had been administered approximately twenty times the designated dosage of the Clonidine; mother was told that minor had been unresponsive for several hours, yet at no time did any member of defendant's staff call 911 or otherwise seek any treatment of minor despite the fact that there was clearly something wrong with him which demanded immediate medical attention."

Butler says she took her son to Children's Mercy Hospital where he was treated for the overdose. She says it's cost her more than $5,000 in medical bills and her son still periodically suffers symptoms of the overdose.

She seeks damages for negligence.

She is represented by John Campbell of Leawood, Kan.

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