What To Do If Your Child is Injured at Daycare
As a parent, you may have been exposed to shocking headlines and alarming stories about injuries and other forms of child neglect within daycare services. Of course, these incidents are the last thing we want our children to be a part of, but sometimes no amount of planning or researching can prevent the unthinkable.
If you’ve found yourself in the midst of a child injury following an afternoon at daycare, there are a few things you should know to make sure your child and your family are protected.
Who may be liable if your child comes home from daycare with an injury?
Understanding the areas in which you need to focus your time and energy is an important part of finding out to hold accountable after an accident. If your child is injured, there can be three possible avenues to pursue, we’ve laid them out below.
The daycare facility
Depending on the type of injury, it can be possible to pursue the entire facility over a specific individual. Was the injury as a result of poor guidelines and procedures? Was the child hurt due to the negligent hiring of an employee who was not properly trained or certified? Was the facility or recreational areas not properly maintained?
Maybe there wasn't enough staff to appropriately monitor the number of children at the daycare that day. All of these point to the lack of care from the facility itself and, as such, can leave the company liable for the injury of your child.
Employees at the daycare
In the event that your child was abused or hurt as a result of the negligence of a singular employee, there may be a good chance that the individual will be liable for their injury. Whether it was something as simple as failure to provide care, or something as extreme as intentional misconduct, you may be able to move forward with legal action on the individual alone.
Third party companies
Outside of the obvious places to hold individuals and daycares accountable, there is also the reality that a third party company may be responsible for your child’s injury. Third party liability occurs when there’s a malfunctioning of playground equipment, care equipment, or in the event a contracted agency is found responsible for the injury.
What is negligent supervision?
Remember when we discussed the lack of appropriate staff as one of the possible reasons for the injury occurring? This can be considered one of many examples of negligent supervision. Daycares that are inadequately staffed are one of the primary examples of negligent supervision. In addition, untrained or inattentive caretakers can also be found as negligent.
What does it take to prove negligence?
While we may perceive someone as negligent, the burden of proof will still need to be delivered in order for the case to hold any water. But how is that done? In order to prove negligence, you need to first outline the duty of care the establishment was supposed to provide and then prove that the expected care was not adequately provided. Once you relate the injury as a direct result of the failure to provide adequate care, you can prove negligence.
Steps to take after a daycare injury
In the event you and your family are working towards holding the right party accountable for an injury, there are a few steps you need to take in order to ensure that the best possible outcome is accounted for.
Seek necessary medical care for your child
FIrst and foremost, it is imperative that you have your child looked at by a medical professional. If the injury is small, it may be tempting to pass up on a visit to the doctors, but it is an important step nonetheless. A doctor can determine if there are any larger issues at hand, as well as provide reliable documentation of the incident.
Ask the daycare for the incident report
A daycare is required to fill out an incident report if an injury occurs on the premises. To ensure the proper documentation is filled out, ask for a copy of the incident report from the daycare center.
Hire a personal injury attorney
Depending on the circumstances and severity of the injury, it may be in your best interest to hire an injury lawyer for your child. Whether your child fell from the changing table, or suffered at the hands of a daycare attendant, you deserve to know your rights and get compensation for any potential medical treatment needed.
Take your next steps with Busciglio Sheridan & Schoeb
When injuries occur, having the right legal team guiding you through every step of the way can make all the difference. Our experienced team puts you and your family first, striving to be the comfort and peace you need during these difficult times. Call us today for a free consultation and see how we can help you make a difference.