Daycare Injury Lawyer

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Daycare facilities should ensure safe premises for the children in their care and provide adequate supervision. Watching children attentively can often allow caregivers to prevent accidents before they happen.

Choking

Babies and toddlers like to put things in their mouths. Unsafe toys and other foreign objects present choking hazards. Daycare workers should be close enough to their charges to take dangerous items away before children put them into their mouths.

Toys that aren’t age-appropriate or that have been recalled should not be in a daycare facility. Workers should keep floors, play areas and outdoor spaces clean and promptly clear away any hazardous foreign objects.

Falls

When children play, there are bound to be falls. From toddlers who are still gaining confidence walking to older, rambunctious children who enjoy running and playing on playground equipment, there are many ways for kids to fall.

Falls can cause broken bones, cuts that require stitches, head injuries and various other wounds. While some falls are unavoidable, others are preventable.

For instance, daycare workers should prevent children from climbing trees or fences. Rugs and play mats should be flat on the floor to prevent tripping, and there shouldn’t be objects in outdoor areas that playing children could trip over.

Neglect or Abuse

Caring for children of all ages requires constant vigilance. Whether due to carelessness, distractions or intentional actions, neglect can have profound impacts on children and their families. Your daycare injuries lawyer can help you seek justice in these heartbreaking situations.

Examples of neglect include workers failing to change diapers regularly, not feeding children, not providing enough fluids and allowing children to play unsupervised. Abuse can take the form of verbal assaults, hitting or shaking children and inappropriate touching. Physically, these children may display diaper rash, signs of malnutrition or bruises.

In some cases, children enrolled in a daycare facility abuse other children. This abuse may include bullying, insults, hitting and inappropriate touching. Whether neglect and abuse is at the hands of a worker or another child, it doesn’t belong in a daycare.

Some forms of neglect and abuse may not leave physical injuries, but their emotional effects can still impact children significantly. Neglected or abused children may exhibit behavioral changes, moodiness or withdrawals, anger issues or separation anxiety.

Sharp Objects

From sharp furniture corners to broken glass or pointed scissors, no sharp objects should be accessible in a daycare facility. Children can sustain cuts or puncture wounds, especially if they fall when walking or running while holding a sharp object.

Spills

Spilled liquids are falling risks. If the spill is a toxic substance, it is also a poisoning hazard because children are curious by nature and may be tempted to taste it.

Unsecured Areas

Cleaning supplies, sharp objects and other items that could be dangerous to children should be kept in secured storage areas. Outdoor play areas should be contained to prevent children from wandering off and trespassers from entering the property.

There are several reasons behind daycare injuries, and some of them are preventable. Your daycare injury lawyer will assess your child’s accident and explain your options.

Workers

Facilities should have enough workers to supervise the number of children in their care. Even the best caregivers can’t always be effective if they are responsible for too many children simultaneously. These workers should have adequate training, and facilities should screen them carefully to see if there are any warning signs that the potential employee isn’t a good fit for a child care position.

Lack of Supervision

Workers should focus their attention on the children in their care. That means not using their phones or chatting with other workers to the extent that children are basically unsupervised. If children are engaging in potentially dangerous behavior, caregivers should step in immediately to reduce the risk of an injury-producing accident.

In addition, larger facilities should have staff responsible for supervising the caregivers. Supervisors can spot risks and act accordingly.

Disregard

Unfortunately, some daycare workers and facilities just don’t care about the children under their supervision. These people may seem competent when parents are present but fall into poor behaviors after parents drop off their children.

Younger children can’t effectively communicate about abuse or neglect, sometimes making it difficult to realize that it is happening.

At the Mike Morse Law Firm, we understand how upsetting daycare injuries can be to parents. We want to help you with every aspect of your claim so you can focus on tending to your child.

Proving Negligence

To hold a daycare worker or facility accountable for your child’s injuries, you need to prove negligence. We will investigate your claim and find evidence that shows:

• Someone owed you a duty of care: When daycare facilities take responsibility for your children, they have an obligation to keep them safe.
• That party breached their duty of care: The worker or facility failed to keep your child safe.
• Your child sustained injuries: Your child was injured at the daycare.
• The breach directly caused the injuries and related damages: Your child’s injuries and related damages happened because the worker or facility failed to keep them safe.

Obtaining evidence in cases involving children is sometimes challenging because children usually aren’t reliable witnesses. Some daycares have video surveillance cameras to record activities, and your legal team can get copies of the applicable footage if you contact us quickly enough.

Other forms of evidence include other adult or an older child’s eyewitness testimony, medical records and photographs of physical injuries. If you suspect that negligence caused your child’s daycare injuries, make detailed records and contact a daycare injury lawyer from the Mike Morse Law Firm immediately.

Communicating With Liable Parties and Insurance Companies

You can designate us as your personal representative so we can handle all communications with insurance companies and daycare facility management and staff. This can relieve some of your emotional stress, and it also can protect the integrity of your claim for compensation.

Settlement Negotiations

Insurance companies often employ several tactics to avoid paying claims. They might deny your claim or offer much less compensation than you should receive. Your daycare injuries lawyer can usually negotiate a much higher settlement without needing to file a civil lawsuit.

However, some circumstances may make taking your case to trial a better choice. Your Mike Morse legal team will explain your options and help you decide which avenue to pursue.

Every situation is different, and case-specific details determine the damages you receive. However, most daycare injury claims allow damages for:

• Medical and mental health care expenses
• Lost wages if you need to take time away from work to care for your injured child
• Pain and suffering
• Anxiety, depression and PTSD

In rare cases, you may also qualify to receive exemplary damages. Your attorney will tell you if your case qualifies.