Child Daycare Injury

How Children Are Injured At Daycare

Children are prone to injury because they are still learning how to use their bodies and exercise proper judgment. Most of them get minor scrapes and bruises. However, serious injuries tend to occur when proper supervision is lacking, unreasonable hazards are present, or through abuse. 

Negligent Or Careless Supervision

Daycares have a duty of care toward the children they supervise. This duty requires them to fulfill various requirements and exercise reasonable care when looking after children.

Negligent and careless supervision occurs when daycare employees engage in one or more of the following actions or behaviors:

• Improper staffing of qualified daycare employees
• Insufficient supervision of children
• Negligent hiring of dangerous individuals
• Negligent transportation

At no time should children at daycares be free from proper supervision. What proper supervision entails depends on the circumstances. For example, proper supervision during outdoor playtime usually requires qualified staff to pay adequate attention to children’s activities, ensuring they do not suffer harm. 

Hazards And Safety Issues

The world is full of potential hazards that can become realities in the face of negligent, reckless, or intentional disregard of said hazards. For example, a spilled juice box can become a dangerous slipping hazard if not cleaned up promptly. 

Other hazards and safety issues that might arise in daycare situations include:

• Unintentional poisonings
• Electrocutions
• Falls into holes or from heights
• Burns 

The state of Nevada has strict safety requirements for daycare facilities. Fulfilling these requirements helps to keep these facilities safe. However, just because a facility is in compliance with state regulations does not mean it is free from hazards or safety concerns. 

Facilities in compliance can and do cause children to be injured all the time. When you have a child injured at daycare, lawsuits for negligence might include a Las Vegas premises liability lawsuit. 

Premises liability refers to liability based on dangerous property conditions. All property owners and tenants owe a duty of care to those who enter their properties lawfully. Whether child abuse or neglect occurs, a daycare can still be held responsible for child daycare injuries caused by general negligence.

For example, if a daycare owner fails to remove ice from their porch or other areas of foot traffic, they can be held liable for slip-and-fall injuries that result. 

Child Abuse

Child abuse at a daycare occurs when someone causes a child to suffer physical or emotional harm. In the daycare setting, various individuals are in a position to commit abuse, including:

• Daycare directors
• Childcare workers
• Teachers and teachers’ aides
• Cooks
• Maintenance and janitorial workers
• Family members of daycare directors and workers
• Family members of children at the daycare
• Other children

Only the most trustworthy workers should be working at these establishments. These workers should constantly protect children from all forms of abuse, including:

• Sexual
• Physical
• Mental

Children may also suffer property or financial abuse at a daycare, even at their young ages. For example, parents may find that their child is missing valuable items or money.

What Should You Do If Your Child Is Injured At Daycare?

If your child is injured at a daycare, you should immediately contact an attorney if the injury requires medical treatment and you suspect abuse or negligence. A simple scrape and proper treatment are usually not cause for legal action. 

However, the need for first-responder care or a visit to the hospital should raise red flags when there is a question of negligence or abuse. 

Ensuring Proper Medical Care And Follow-Ups

In most instances of daycare child injury, the parents are not present. Thus, it falls upon the daycare to seek proper medical attention for the injured child. Once a parent is notified, they should get to the child as soon as possible and see to their medical care. 

Proper medical care includes following doctor’s orders and attending all follow-up appointments. Throughout treatment, parents should collect and preserve all medical documentation and records of the injury. 

Attorney Consultation

If you suspect negligence or unlawful behavior, you are strongly urged to meet with an attorney. At Adam S. Kutner, Injury Attorneys, we offer free initial consultations for potential clients. 

During your consultation, an experienced Las Vegas personal injury attorney will assess whether you have a reasonable case and answer all your questions. 

How Do You Prove Your Child Was Injured Because Of Daycare?

What matters in child daycare injury cases is whether you can prove that a daycare is liable. Allegations and suspicions must be backed up with evidence. The evidence must show:

• An intentional or reckless act that directly causes a child injury
• A negligent act that injures a child
• Proof of harm

Types of evidence needed to establish the above criteria include:

• Video footage
• Photos
• Witness testimony
• Medical records
• 911 call transcripts
• Texts and emails to and from the daycare
• Daycare incident report
• Police report

When our team takes on a daycare injury case, we vigorously pursue these and other types of evidence. As a parent of a child injured at daycare, you can also help by gathering what evidence you can reasonably acquire. 

Photos of your child’s injuries and of the injury location can be extremely valuable to your case for compensation. Saving all relevant text messages and emails between you and the daycare center can also work significantly in your favor. 

What Should You Do If Your Child Is Injured By A Babysitter?

If your child is injured by a babysitter outside of a daycare facility, you can hold them responsible if they were negligent or acted unlawfully to cause the injury. Although babysitters caring for fewer than four children do not need a license in Nevada, they still must exercise reasonable care when caring for them. 

As with daycare injuries, you should get to your child immediately and see to their proper medical care. A consultation with a Las Vegas injured child lawyer from our firm will help you decide what to do next.