Entrusting a child to a babysitter or day care center isn’t something parents take lightly. Especially if there are health conditions involved, extra precautions are needed. Tragically, a toddler died after being put down for a nap at a day care center in Illinois.
Jaylin Branch Jr., 2, died in February 2025 after he was found unresponsive at Grandma Jones’ Daycare in Calumet City, Illinois. The toddler had a history of epilepsy. Now, his parents are suing the day care for negligence and calling for the state to investigate.
The toddler died after he was put down for a nap at day care and found unresponsive.
On February 20, Jaylin had a seizure and choked on his vomit at Grandma Jones’ Daycare, the Chicago Tribune reported. He had been diagnosed with epilepsy at 5 months old, per ABC 7 Chicago. Officers responded to the day care at roughly 1 p.m., according to a police report.
“Did they give him his emergency medication?” the toddler’s mother, Jasmine Bailey, said in body cam footage. “That’s what he’s supposed to have the moment he started seizing.”
He spent four days on life support.
About an hour after Jaylin was put down for a nap, day care staff allegedly found him unresponsive with blue lips. The 2-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital. He was on life support for four days before being pronounced dead.
“He’s a jack of all trades,” his father, Jaylin Branch Sr., told ABC 7. “He would do a front flip, a cartwheel, jump off the slide, dance, all while eating a cookie.”
Body cam footage shows an officer asking if he had emergency seizure medicine.
In the body cam video, an officer asked a day care employee, “Do we have emergency medication for him?”
The worker then searched a cabinet and located the medication, seemingly unopened.
Afterward, the officer ran the medication to the ambulance. He then asked a different employee, “Do you know if he’s had the emergency medication for seizures today yet?”
“No, not yet,” she replied.
Now, the family is suing the day care center.
Jaylin’s family has since sued Grandma Jones’ Daycare negligence, per ABC 7. The lawsuit claimed improper training and failure to take proper precautions while the toddler slept. The wrongful death lawsuit also alleged that the day care employees leave sleeping children unsupervised for too long. Additionally, the lawsuit claimed it failed to administer Jaylin’s emergency medication, per his written action plan, in a timely manner.
“Had someone followed the action plan, had someone just given proper supervision, intervention could have happened in this incident and Baby J would have still been alive,” said one of the couple’s lawyers, Evan Finneke, per ABC 7.
Jaylin’s family is seeking $50,000 in monetary compensation, the Chicago Tribune reported. Additionally, attorneys called for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to investigate Grandma Jones’ Daycare and shut it down if necessary.
“For other parents whose children are in day care, I would say to just make sure you’re doing a thorough look – check, check, check,” Bailey said, per the Chicago Tribune. “I can’t express that enough. If you’re having a weird feeling, go up there and check.”
The day care has issued a statement.
In a statement to Fox 32 Chicago, the day care shared, “First and foremost, we are deeply saddened by the death of Jaylin Branch and express heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.”
It continued, “We are reviewing the lawsuit that has been filed against the Grandma Jones’ Daycare facility in Calumet City, IL and will respond accordingly through the legal process. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to provide any further comment.”
