Parents Sue Bay Club Over Toddler’s Alleged Brain Injury at El Segundo Childcare Center

A California couple has sued Bay Club after alleging that a worker at its El Segundo childcare center dropped their 23-month-old son, causing a traumatic brain injury and hearing loss, then gave the family a false account of what happened.

Matthew and Elena Kittle filed the lawsuit July 2 in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of their son, identified as C.K. The filing names The Bay Clubs Company and Bay Club South Bay and brings claims tied to the child’s care, the club’s staffing and supervision, and its response after the injury.

Surveillance footage from March 17, 2025, appears to show a worker holding C.K. by his arms and swinging him between her legs several times. On the final swing, the worker appears to lift the toddler above her head, release him and fail to catch him before falling backward onto him.

The parents claim C.K. struck his head on a hardwood floor. Court papers state that he was later treated for blunt head trauma, a facial abrasion and a concussion, which the filing also describes as a traumatic brain injury. The family says he continued to experience symptoms, including hearing loss.

Bay Club employees contacted the child’s father after the incident, but the lawsuit claims they initially gave the impression that the injury was minor. Staff later asked him to collect C.K. because they could not calm him. When he arrived, the filing states, the toddler’s face was bruised, his mouth was swollen, and one eye was swollen shut.

A club employee allegedly told the parents that a worker had lost her balance while holding C.K. in a squatting position and that the child had fallen from about 1.5 feet. The family argues that the account was contradicted by video showing the toddler about 6 feet above the floor before the fall.

Medical workers later questioned whether the reported description matched the injuries, the lawsuit states. The parents claim the inaccurate account affected the information they gave health care providers and delayed their understanding of the force involved.

The case relies mainly on negligence, negligent hiring and supervision, and intentional concealment. It also includes claims involving emotional distress and battery. Rather than treating the fall as an isolated act, the filing argues that Bay Club should be held responsible for how the child was handled, how the worker was selected and supervised, and what managers disclosed afterward.

Negligence claims generally require proof that a person or business had a duty to act with reasonable care, failed to meet that duty and caused an injury. The level of care depends on the circumstances, including the age and vulnerability of the person at risk. The parents argue Bay Club failed to meet that standard through the worker’s conduct and through its hiring, training and supervision.

Court papers also raise a dispute over California childcare licensing. State law exempts some temporary childcare programs from licensing when services are provided only to parents or guardians who remain on the same premises as the program. The parents claim the El Segundo facility did not qualify because members could leave their children there while visiting Manhattan Country Club, about 1 mile away.

An alleged licensing violation also supports a claim known as negligence per se. Under that doctrine, a violation of a safety law may be used to establish a failure to use reasonable care when the law was designed to prevent the type of harm alleged and protect people such as the injured child. The family would still need to show that a licensing violation occurred and was connected to C.K.’s injuries.

Separate from the negligence allegations, the lawsuit accuses Bay Club of intentionally concealing important facts after the incident. The parents argue the company misstated how C.K. was injured and withheld information about licensing, staffing, and supervision. Such a claim generally requires proof that a person or company had a duty to disclose important information, knowingly hid or misstated it, and caused harm as a result.

The lawsuit seeks past and future damages, punitive damages, civil penalties, legal costs and other relief allowed by law. The family has requested a jury trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court.