Revelations of child’s death in hot SUV devastates family

Knowing that two-year-old Eva Ravikovich died of heatstroke after being left in a hot SUV for more than seven hours is “devastating” for her family, says Toronto critical injury lawyer Patrick Brown.

Brown, partner with McLeish Orlando LLP, is representing Eva’s parents in a civil lawsuit against the daycare operators and the Ministry of Education arising from her 2013 death.

While criminal proceedings have been underway for some time, the details around what led to the girl’s death were not publicly revealed until a recent court appearance, during which daycare operator Olena Panfilova pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death.

“From our perspective, the family was very appreciative of the efforts by police and prosecution which led to this guilty plea,” says Brown.

“But to hear her admit she left their child in the car and she died there was devastating.”

Guilty plea

Panfilova’s guilty plea changes the course of the civil proceedings slightly, because the woman’s vehicle insurance company may now be involved, Brown adds.

He says the Ministry of Education had “full knowledge” of the overcrowded illegal daycare, which was operating without a licence. According to an agreed statement of facts, ministry officials attended the home and followed up with a warning letter about overcrowding in 2012.

On the morning of Eva’s death, the daycare operator, who offered a pickup and drop-off service, arrived home with a number of small children in her SUV, according to the statement of facts.

Panfilova removed children from the vehicle and closed the door, leaving only Eva inside. Court documents show that on that hot summer day, Panfilova had 35 children in her care, including 21 who were aged three or younger.

It wasn’t until later that afternoon that Panfilova realized she had forgotten to get Eva from the vehicle. When she found her, the child was already dead from heatstroke.

Statement of facts

According to the statement of facts, Panfilova’s daughter called 911 and said: “We’re taking care of a kid and — I think she’s dead. We put her down for a nap. We went to wake her up and she’s not breathing and she’s like all … purple.”

Eva’s family set out to determine how their daughter died, but also to make sure it never happens to anyone again, Brown says.

“That includes pursuing criminal proceedings but also making sure we continue to proceed for accountability against the Ministry of Education,” he says.

Although there have been some positive steps since Eva’s death through the Child Care and Early Years Act, including further emphasis on inspections and enforcement, Brown says the government agency must be held responsible.

“They had multiple complaints, yet they allowed it to continue. Only after a child died did the ministry take the appropriate steps to shut it down,” he says.

“They had the legal authority to do it back then, but if a government agency isn’t willing to act on its responsibilities, laws can be useless.”