Magnolia Park Day Care Center and two of its employees have been sued by a Clayton County woman who alleges the center “covered up” and failed to report a serious injury to her 1-year-old son while he was in their care.

In the suit, Teresa Crowe claims that between July 26 and Aug. 14 an employee there “physically mishandled” her son and broke his arm. The incident was not reported at the time, and the suit claims the center staff, including caregiver Trista Bowlden and her supervisor Carolyn Tennie, “engaged in a cover-up to conceal the injury itself” and also to conceal exactly how the infant was hurt.

The suit claims that Magnolia Park failed to properly train its employees and it negligently hired Bowlden and other employees who cared for the youth.

The suit also claims that the defendants’ negligence led to Crowe being investigated by the Clayton County Department of Family and Children Services, and she was “forced to relinquish physical custody of her son for over three months.”

The suit was filed last week on behalf of Crowe by Atlanta attorneys M. Gino Brogdon Sr. and Derin B. Dickerson. Dickerson declined to comment on the case late Tuesday morning.

Bowlden, 22, of Griffin, was arrested Dec. 27 by Fayetteville Police. She was charged with one felony count of cruelty to children. Several other reports of children under her care suffering broken arms were reported in following days; it is not clear if this lawsuit is connected directly to the pending criminal case or not.