State settles day-care injury claim

The state has agreed to pay $4.5 million to the parents of a Spokane girl who suffered a fractured skull earlier this year at a day-care business with a history of complaints.

The parents of 2-year-old Hailee Rhoads filed a $22 million tort claim against the Department of Social and Health Services, arguing that the agency could have prevented the injury had it acted sooner and revoked the day-care license of Danette Zaring.

Zaring was scheduled to go to trial Sept. 13 on a charge of first-degree assault in connection with Hailee’s injuries. But Patrick Johnson, deputy Spokane County prosecutor, said Monday that he expects that trial to be postponed until November.

Hailee suffered a fractured skull Jan. 12 after her mother, Chanin Carr, had dropped her off at Zaring’s day care. Zaring has admitted throwing Hailee onto the floor after she refused to stop crying.

On Jan. 13, doctors at Deaconess Medical Center performed emergency surgery to release pressure on the toddler’s brain. She has since recovered.

DSHS spokesman Jeff Weathersby would not comment Monday about the settlement, but sent a statement by e-mail.

“DSHS felt it was in the state’s interest to settle the claim to avoid lengthy and costly litigation and the uncertainty of a jury verdict,” the statement reads.

Deb Bingaman, who is the DSHS assistant secretary in charge of the Economic Services Administration, added this comment to the statement. “DSHS extends its sympathies to the family for the injuries sustained by Hailee.”

Beyond the cash settlement, details of the agreement were sealed at the request of the plaintiffs.

The family’s attorney, David P. Moody, did not return several messages left at his Seattle office on Friday and Monday.

But Moody argued in his tort claim filed in March that DSHS never initiated a license revocation against Zaring even though her day care received 12 complaints between 1998 and 2001. DSHS officials later found nine of those complaints to be valid.

“DSHS was, for several reasons, grossly negligent in licensing (and continuing to license) the Zaring day care,” Moody wrote.

The state had several opportunities to close the Zaring day care, but DSHS “through its ignorance and callous acts of omission, chose to disregard each and every red flag,” Moody wrote. “Simply put, DSHS failed to take advantage of the many opportunities it had to protect Hailee.”

According to state records, parents had complained that Zaring left children unsupervised, slapped them and pulled them down hallways.

Zaring, who was 35 when she was arrested in January, had her license placed on six months’ probation in 2000 after parents complained to the state.

Zaring’s attorney, Carl Oreskovich, could not be reached for comment late Monday.

During questioning in connection with Hailee’s injuries, Zaring told Spokane Police Detective Kip Hollenbeck that Hailee had been crying on Jan. 12 and would not take a nap.

“At the time she was standing up in a playpen. Zaring picked the child up, lifted her to shoulder height and threw her bodily back into the playpen,” Hollenbeck wrote in court records.

Hailee struck the back of her head on the floor within the playpen. Her body remained limp for about one to five minutes, Hollenbeck wrote.

“The child finally responded when Zaring blew air in Hailee’s face. The child began crying,” Hollenbeck wrote. “Zaring said she considered calling medics but did not because she did not want to lose her day-care license.”