State to pay nearly $200,000 to family of baby who died at Rutland child care facility

The state has filed a lawsuit against the parents of a 6-month-old baby who died at a Rutland child care facility, saying the family said the Vermont Department of Children and Families failed to properly investigate complaints against the facility and that it owns it.

A Rutland County jury found the owner of the facility, Stacey Vaillancourt. Guilty in December 2023 Both involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty cases resulted in the death of 6-month-old Harper Rose Briar in 2019.

Prosecutors said Vaillancourt caused Harper Rose Briar’s death by giving the baby a sedative that was not prescribed to her.

vaillancourt sentenced in March imprisonment from three to 10 years.

A wrongful death lawsuit was also filed in 2021 on behalf of the estate of Harper Rose Briar and her parents, Marissa and Blake Briar.

case He accused DCF and its employees of failing to properly investigate complaints that Vaillancourt administered medication to children at the child care facility without parental consent.

The state agreed to pay $195,000 to Harper Rose Briar’s estate to settle the case, according to documents filed in Rutland County Superior Court of Common Pleas this month. The state admits no wrongdoing as part of the agreement.

The deal was reported for the first time Thursday by WCAX-TV.

DFC spokesman Joshua Marshall said in an email Friday that the department “does not have any comment beyond what is included in the settlement document.”

READ MORE

with Tiffany Tan
12 March 2024, 19:1712 March 2024, 19:17

The family’s attorneys could not be reached for comment Friday.

Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan argued during Vaillancourt’s criminal trial that Vaillancourt fatally sedated Harper on the baby’s third day at a home child care program in Rutland.

The state’s medical examiner’s office ruled that the child died of diphenhydramine poisoning, an antihistamine that has sedating effects and is the active ingredient in medications such as Benadryl.

“The level of diphenhydramine in Harper Briar’s blood at the time of death represents more than one therapeutic dose,” the affidavit said. “Blood concentration over time may represent one large application or multiple small applications.”

Vaillancourt’s defense attorneys argued that someone else may have administered the lethal drug to the child before arriving at Vaillancourt’s home.

Vaillancort is currently serving his sentence at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington.