Parents Sue Nursery Over Their Daughter's Tragic Death

Parents Sue Nursery Over Their Daughter's Tragic Death
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The parents of a toddler who choked to death whilst playing unsupervised in a Wendy house at her nursery school in 2007 are to sue the nursery's owners.

Two-year-old Rhiya Malin was found hanging with her feet off the ground when her head was trapped between a gap in the roof and a wall in a play house at Eton Manor Children's Day Nursery in Chigwell, Essex.

The little girl suffered compression of the neck and died in hospital despite paramedics' attempts to resuscitate her at the scene.

Jay and Shatl Malin have campaigned to hold the nursery to account for their daughter's death, but lost a judicial review earlier in the year, resulting in the staff and owners not facing criminal charges.

The couple have now launched a gross negligence lawsuit against the nursery.

IT Consultant Mr Malin, 40, said: "It's not good enough just for lessons to be learned, there have to be consequences for the people who were responsible."

Mr Malin added: "There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about my two-year-old daughter hanging there.

'Was she scared and in pain?

"Did she call out for me? I cry every day.

"Every day for us is a struggle knowing that

The inquest heard Mrs Malin had previously given birth to a stillborn boy and Rhiya had been monitored closely during a 'difficult' pregnancy.

Mrs Malin said: "There was nothing in this world that came close to the feeling you get each day when your little girl says, 'I love you, Mummy'."

The distraught dad also questioned why the company was allowed to re-register with Ofsted, and therefore not make other parents aware of their daughter's death at the nursery. He said: 'Even if they are not accepting responsibility there should at least be a note that a child died and it was not natural causes so other parents can make up their minds.'

A spokeswoman for Eton Manor said: 'The whole team at Eton Manor nursery remain deeply saddened by the tragic accident which resulted in the death of Rhiya Malin three years ago. There are no words to console the loss felt by Rhiya's family and friends. They are always in our thoughts and we continue to offer our sincerest condolences.'

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