If your child has suffered a daycare injury, you may want to contact a daycare injury attorney. These accidents can be severe and caused by the daycare provider’s negligence or its staff. It is essential to contact an experienced daycare injury attorney as soon as possible after your child’s accident. Your child will likely need specialized medical treatment, and your daycare provider may be able to provide you with medical records.
Causes of Physical Injuries at Daycares
- Burns: commonly seen in young children being burned by bottle warmers.
- Poisoning: toxic chemicals, like cleaning products, soap, washing machine detergent, etc.
- Broken bones/dislocated joints: jumping from high surfaces, like playground equipment, rough or violent daycare workers.
- Suffocation: something tied around a kid’s neck, choking on food, babies may suffocate when staff put them in wrong sleeping positions.
- Brain injury: trauma to the head, overheating.
- Heatstroke: negligent caregivers may forget kids in vans or hot buses, leading to organ failure, severe brain damage, or death.
Children’s Emotional and Psychological Reactions to Abuse in Daycare
Children may sometimes show signs of being abused through emotional and psychological actions. Some of these examples include:
- Regressive behavior: bedwetting
- Separation anxiety: constantly needing to be around a parent or someone they trust.
- Excessive crying: children who were abused cry more than usual
- Fear of unknown adults: suddenly showing fear in meeting adults in a previously social child.
How Children Are Harmed in Texas Daycare Centers
According to a report from the Texas State Board of Education, there are several instances when Texas daycare centers harm children. Often, these incidents are the result of poor supervision or ineffective management. The truth is that these kinds of situations can happen at any daycare center, so it’s vital to take steps to prevent them from happening. You should keep in mind many things when considering whether or not a daycare facility is safe.
Complaints Filed Against The Treehouse Academy
For instance, in April of last year, complaints were filed against the Treehouse Academy in San Antonio, which had several alleged deficiencies. Mendez, a mother of a 4-year-old, worked at the center. She was worried when her son started crying excessively and acting out differently. She then contacted Lindsay Rice, the center director, and asked to review surveillance footage from the child care center.
The Daycare Center Could be Found Negligent
Texas child protection authorities can hold the center liable when a daycare center employee fails to follow a child’s treatment plan. For example, if an employee of the daycare center intentionally causes physical or emotional harm to a child, the daycare center could be negligent. The child may have suffered a loss due to the mistreatment. Another example of negligence is an employee’s failure to provide proper supervision.
Texas State Law Regulations to Prevent Daycare Injuries
The state of Texas law requires that standards be implemented and followed by daycare centers, including:
- Diet
- Proper supervision of babies and children
- Special procedures for infants and special needs children
- Training of staff
- Qualification of staff
- The ratio of caregivers to children
- Age-appropriate games and sporting activities
- Sanitation
Neglect or abuse of a child at the hands of a caregiver can have lasting effects on a child’s physical and mental well-being. As parents, we make difficult decisions every day regarding our child’s care. As the number of working parents increases, so does the number of children in daycare centers. Often the staff of these facilities is overworked, underpaid, and ill-trained to care for the children entrusted to them. Daycare injury attorneys can evaluate the training and staffing of these facilities.
Guidelines to Protect Children in Daycare Centers
Despite the laws and regulations, the problem continues to persist. Despite this, the Texas Human Resources Commission (THD) has implemented comprehensive rules to protect children in daycare centers.
These guidelines include:
- Proper handwashing
- Severe weather safety
- Health and nutrition
To avoid any legal liability, the child care operation must comply with these laws and follow a set of standards. A thorough inspection and timely correction of any violations of safety policies are essential for a quality child care center.
Thousands of child care centers in Texas have multiple violations. A few of these violations are a result of negligence. The children’s safety is of utmost importance. Moreover, many children will be exposed to harmful substances and unsafe conditions in a daycare. This means that Texas child care centers should always be inspected regularly. If a child is injured in a daycare, the state department of Family and Protective Services will take action.
Consult With a Daycare Injury Attorney
The first step to legal action after a daycare accident is to contact an attorney. An attorney will review the incident report to determine whether you can file a lawsuit. This consultation is free and will help you decide on your legal options and potential payouts. A lawyer will also gather evidence that will support your case. If you have proof of an injury, your attorney can file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf and pursue compensation for your losses. This can include pictures and videos of the incident. You will also want to take your child to the doctor right away if they are injured in any way. Additionally, an experienced attorney may be able to obtain police reports and security camera footage to support your claim.
It is important to remember that daycares will try to dismiss your claim by saying, “you know kids,” or “the children were just playing around.” These types of statements will not provide you with the information you need to defend yourself successfully.
Damages You May Recover
If your child was injured, abused, or neglected at a daycare facility, you might be able to recover damages for:
- Medical treatment: ER visits, physical therapy, follow-up appointments, etc.
- Loss of earning capacity: losing a hand that will require special training
- Loss of income would apply to parents and guardians if they had extensive time off work to care for the child.
- Disfigurement: permanent scarring or loss of a limb
- Loss of enjoyment of life: hinders your child’s ability to do things they would have otherwise been able to do.
The Adley Law Firm Stands Up For Children in Texas
The Adley Law Firm stands up for the rights of child abuse and neglect victims in daycare centers. Since 1994, the firm has exclusively practiced personal injury law in Houston, Texas. They take cases involving severe injuries, including wrongful death. Our attorneys work hard to win justice for our clients and have recovered millions of dollars for clients. If your child has suffered an injury at daycare due to someone else negligence, call us today at (713) 999-8669.
