Parents Sue Over Tot’s Day Care Center Death

An Aliso Viejo couple who ran a children’s day care center are being sued in Superior Court for allegedly abusing a 5-month-old boy who died of his injuries.

Kodi Vedder of Laguna Hills died last April 21 after being injured at the Orlina Home Day Care Center, a licensed child care facility that Mary and Raymond Orlina operated out of their home, according to the suit filed here on Monday.

Eric and Trish Vedder accuse the Orlinas of intentionally mistreating and abusing their son. The Orlinas have told officials that the infant accidentally rolled off a couch and fell about 18 inches onto a carpeted floor.

“But any chimpanzee can tell you that a child doesn’t sustain injuries like this falling a short distance onto a carpeted surface,” the Vedders’ attorney, Christina Anne Fountain, said Tuesday. “This child was dropped, thrown or shaken in such a violent manner that he suffered serious internal injuries and died.”

The Orlinas’ attorney, Bruce Schwartz, said Tuesday his clients were unaware of the suit and were unavailable for comment.

On April 21, Trish Vedder picked up Kodi at the Orlina’s home and noticed bruising on his nose, according to Fountain. She was told he had suffered a minor fall that did not require medical attention. But later that night, Kodi began seizing up and his eyes were rolling back into his head, the attorney said. He soon died.

Under an agreement reached last month with the state Department of Social Services, the Orlinas did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed to be barred for life from operating or working in a care facility licensed by the state of California, according to Steve McNeal, an attorney for the department.

The Orlinas’ voluntary agreement to leave the day care field is harsher than any penalty they could have faced if found negligent under department guidelines, said McNeal.

At most, the department can strip negligent day care operators of their license for up to two years before they became eligible to have their license reinstated, McNeal said.

“Basically, with this agreement, they’ll never darken our door again,” McNeal said.

The suit seeks monetary damages but does not state an amount.

Meanwhile, the Orange County district attorney’s office is still conducting an investigation into the case.