More than 14 million children in the country are in some form of day care each day. Children deserve the safest and healthiest environments where they can learn and grow. Parents need to take extra precautions by interviewing caregivers and examining facilities carefully before leaving their child at a day care provider.
Negligence in a day care setting is the breach of the day care provider’s duty to the children, which is to treat them with reasonable care. This duty includes keeping children safe and providing for their physical, emotional, and psychological needs, including proper food, rest, and appropriate activities within a secure environment.
Facts about Childhood Injuries
- More than 12,000 people between the ages of 0 and 19 die from unintentional injuries each year.
- More than 9 million people in the same age group are seen in emergency rooms for injuries each year.
- Children between the ages of 1 and 4 had the highest rate of nonfatal falls.
When parents and guardians drop their children off at daycare or put them on the bus in the morning, they do so with the assumption that the adults in charge of their care will keep them safe. No parent expects a phone call during the workday telling them that their child has suffered an injury after being involved in an accident. Unfortunately, these phone calls are made every day throughout Texas.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT NEGLIGENCE IN A HOUSTON DAY CARE FACILITY?
In personal injury cases involving negligence on part of the day care provider, filing the lawsuit must be done promptly as per the statute of limitations prevailing in your state. Delay in taking action could hurt the outcome of your case. To build a strong case, our experience day care negligence lawyers recommend:
- Collecting all medical bills incurred as a result of your child’s injury.
- Maintaining a record of all paperwork between you and the daycare provider.
- Obtaining security footage of the unfortunate incident, If available.
- Taking photos of the scene of the accident and your child’s injuries as soon as possible.
- Avoid giving statements or signing any papers before consulting your day care negligence attorney. Do not accept blame and also avoid blaming anyone.
- Contact an experienced day care negligence attorney immediately.
PROVING DAYCARE PROVIDER IS LIABLE.
To succeed in a personal injury claim on behalf of your child, you must prove that the day care provider was negligent.
Negligence is defined as “Failure to take reasonable care to avoid causing injury or loss to another person.”
To prove negligence, you must establish the following elements:
- The day care provider had a duty of care to protect your child from undue harm.
- The day care provider breached its duty of care.
- The breach was the direct and proximate cause of your child’s injuries.
- The injury must have been foreseeable by the daycare staff and management.
- Nature and value of your child’s damages.
EXAMPLES OF DAYCARE FACILITY NEGLIGENCE IN HOUSTON
Some major factors that lead to violations by day care providers are:
FAILURE TO SUPERVISE.
If a child is injured or harmed due to the lack of reasonable supervision, the failure amounts to negligence. If you consistently see fewer staff members at your child’s day care, it could be a sign that your child is not receiving the supervision and care he or she needs.
FAILURE TO KEEP PREMISES SAFE.
A day care provider’s failure to provide a safe environment can lead to injuries to children in its care. Leaving medicines or toxic substances within reach of children or not picking and putting away toys after children have played can lead to injuries to the children. Small objects, including office or craft supplies like paper clips, push pins, staples, and small lids to containers should not be kept where children can reach them. Children are often killed or harmed swallowing small or sharp objects.
FAILURE TO TAKE CARE OF A CHILD’S SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS.
If a child suffers from an allergic reaction to certain foods, then he or she should not be fed such foods. If your child is consistently in need of food or water when you pick them up, it is a sign that the providers are not adequately nourishing them. This can lead to your child losing weight or being dehydrated. Failure to comply with these needs can be considered an act of negligence.
FAILURE TO SCREEN EMPLOYEES.
The day care providers must ensure that they conduct proper screening and thorough background checks on their employees. Day care providers should avoid hiring individuals with a history of child abuse or instances of negligence at their former workplaces.
TYPES OF INJURIES SUSTAINED BY CHILDREN AT DAY CARE FACILITIES:
The most common day care facility accident injuries are:
- Broken bones and Fractures.
- Cuts.
- Dislocations.
- Poisoning.
- Choking on food or other objects.
- Dental injuries.
- Foodborne illnesses.
- Injuries caused by outsiders.
- Eye Injuries.
- Injuries caused by other children.
- Wrongful death.
YOUR CHILD’S RIGHT TO COMPENSATION IN TEXAS.
Most day care agreements have a section that says you give up the right to sue the day care provider if anything unfortunate happens to your child, called the ‘liability clause’ or ‘indemnity clause’. This liability clause makes parents sign away their child’s right to compensation in case of injury.
Courts in almost all the states have decided that it is against public policy to relieve day care providers of their liability if a child is injured while in their care. The Courts have taken the position that it’s the child who is hurt and not the parent. For a parent to sign away a child’s right to sue isn’t fair or appropriate to the child.
Our compassionate Day care Accident lawyers in Houston help victims recover:
- Medical Bills.
- Lost Wages of parents.
- Damages suffered due to Pain and Suffering.
- Damages suffered due to Emotional Distress.
- Costs of future corrective surgeries.
- Damages suffered due to loss of enjoyment of life.
CONTACT A TEXAS DAYCARE NEGLIGENCE LAWYER.
If your beloved child has been injured due to the careless or negligent actions or inactions of a day care provider’s employees or management in the Houston area, your child deserves to be duly compensated for the injuries suffered and other damages.
You may be overwhelmed and wondering how you are going to pay for everything. Hiring an experienced law firm like ours lets you focus on the recovery and healing process of your child.
We help you understand your child’s rights and help you interpret complicated legal procedures. An experienced lawyer at our firm will walk you through the complex legal system with the finesse of a professional tour guide.
Call a Board Certified Experienced Houston Day care Negligence lawyer at The Law Offices of Shane R. Kadlec today for a free case evaluation right away.
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