The parents of two-year-old Eva Ravikovich -- who died at a daycare in Vaughan, Ont., in early July -- are launching a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the daycare and the province.
Ekaterina Evtopva and Vycheslav Ravikovich will be speaking with the media on Thursday morning about their lawsuit, which targets the Ontario Ministry of Education and the owner and operators of the daycare, where their daughter was found dead about a month ago.
York Region police were called to the home-based daycare, located near Dufferin Street and Highway 407, on July 8, when they found the toddler without vital signs. CPR was performed by paramedics, but she was pronounced dead on scene.
Now, Evtopva and Ravikovich are looking for a $3.5-million settlement, after it was revealed by a Ministry of Education spokesperson that three complaints had already been filed about the number of children attending the daycare, but only the last one was followed up on.
The daycare was investigated in November 2012, when its operator was told to reduce the number of children under the age of 10 being cared for in order to comply with the law. Home-based unlicensed child care providers can only take care of a maximum of five children under the age of 10, in addition to any of their own. Police say there were 27 children at the daycare when Ravikovich died.
Public health officials investigated the Vaughan daycare after the child’s death and uncovered health hazards related to food safety and infection prevention. But the cause of Eva’s death has not yet been identified.
A memorial fund has been set up to cover Ravikovich’s funeral expenses. As of Wednesday, more than $7,000 of the $10,000 goal had been donated.
