Mother sues Goodstart Early Learning over boy’s death in bus at Cairns centre

The mum of a three-year-old boy who died after being left strapped in his baby seat on a Cairns daycare minibus for almost six hours has launched a $750,000 lawsuit.

The mum of a three-year-old boy who died after being left strapped in his baby seat on a daycare minibus for almost six hours in searing Cairns heat has sued the national daycare giant for more than $750,000.

Muriel Gail Namok, mum of Maliq “Meeky” Nicholas Floyd Namok-Malamoo, filed a civil claim for psychological trauma against Goodstart Early Learning Limited in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Friday.

Malik Nicholas Floyd Namok-Malamoo was found on a Goodstart Early Learning centre bus at Edmonton, south of Cairns, in February 2020. Picture Supplied

The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear civil damages claims worth $750,000 or more.

Details of the claim were not made public as the court does not release them until a defence has been filed.

No defence has been filed by the childcare giant.

Meeky’s mother Muriel Namok speaks to the media after a court hearing on the matter. Picture: Stewart McLean

Ms Namok’s law firm media spokesman told The Courier-Mail the firm would not provide a copy of the claim to this publication unless we omitted publication of the dollar figure of the damages Ms Namok was seeking.

Meeky died after being left strapped in his baby seat on a Goodstart Early Learning daycare minibus in searing heat for almost six hours at Edmonton, south of Cairns, on February 18, 2020.

Malik Namok-Malamoo was found dead on the centre’s bus. Picture: ABC NEWS

He was collected from his home by Goodstart Edmonton childcare director Michael Lewis about 9.20am after he was forgotten on the day care’s first collection run, but was then left inside the bus until 3.13pm.

Temperatures inside the bus likely reached up to 56C

Lewis was jailed for six years after pleading guilty to manslaughter. He was eligible for parole from August 2022.

Centre director Michael Glenn Lewis

Dionne Batrice Grills.

Childcare worker Dionne Batrice Grills was acquitted of manslaughter by a jury in April last year.

Goodstart Early Learning Limited was fined $71,000 in 2021 after pleading guilty to failing to adequately supervise children, failing to protect children from harm/hazard likely to cause injury, and failing to take reasonable steps to ensure documentation is accurate in the Cairns Magistrates Court.

No date has been set for hearing the civil claim by Mrs Namok.

Goodstart declined to comment.

Originally published as Mother sues Goodstart Early Learning over boy’s death in bus at Cairns centre