A lawsuit has been filed against T-Mobile in Texas by the family of Brandon Alex, the six-month-old who passed away after his babysitter struggled to reach a 911 operator.
CNN reports the suit was filed on Monday (May 8) in Dallas County with Alex’s mother, Bridget named as the plaintiff. The suit highlights the tragic events that took place on March 11 when Alex’s babysitter tried for 40 minutes to get in contact with a 9111 operator after the infant fell from a daybed.
After hundreds of “ghost calls” that flooded the lines, the babysitter gave up and called Bridget, who was attending a funeral, to take the child to the hospital.
Brandon was pronounced dead with the Collin County Medical Examiner’s office still investigating the cause of death.
UPDATE: Mother of baby who died sues T-Mobile for 911 delays
NC10: https://t.co/rrD4yvJEoh pic.twitter.com/tRvoG39Oyb— KFDA NewsChannel10 (@NewsChannel10) May 11, 2017
While no amount was named, Alex is seeking compensation for “mental anguish, loss of consortium, grief, bereavement, loss of future financial contributions, loss of services, loss of advice, care and counsel, loss of society and companionship, medical, funeral, and burial expenses.”
“I just want y’all to tell me why didn’t you respond to my son? That’s all I want to know, is why,” Alex said at the time of her son’s death. “At the end of the day, I’m still going to be here hurt,” Alex added. “Because he will not be here. I’m not going to see him or smell him or touch me or kiss him ever again.”
The suit partially blames the company since the tied lines prevented the 911 dispatch to track down the babysitter’s location. “There were no mandatory safety standards or regulatory adopted and promulgated by the federal government or an agency of the federal government that were applicable to the telecommunications technology, software, and/or mobile device services and products at the time of manufacture and development and that governed the product risk that caused this harm,” the suit reads. “Upon information and belief, because of defendants’ policies, software, or technology, Bridget Alex’s apartment location did not immediately appear in the City of Dallas’s 911 call center.”
At the time of the incident, the company released a statement and worked to clear up call issues with their towers. The suit also lists other times where consumers issued complaints to the Better Business Bureau about ghost calls with the company.
T-Mobile hasn’t responded to the lawsuit. You can read the lawsuit, in full, here.