HOUSTON DAYCARE
ACCIDENT LAWYER

Inadequate Supervision

One of the most common causes of child injury at a daycare facility is lack of or inadequate supervision. Falls, ingestion of toxins, and playground injuries are all common injuries that might be related to insufficient monitoring. Failing to supervise children properly is a form of daycare negligence.

Injuries are more common in younger children, both because of their inexperience and because they are less coordinated than older children. If an employee at a childcare facility is careless, the result can be a severe or catastrophic injury.

Examples of Daycare Negligence

Here are just a few examples of recent daycare cases we have won:

• A worker changing a baby’s diaper steps away, and the baby falls.
• A child was left in a hot van and died.
• A child ingested a harmful chemical.
• A caregiver leaves the room, allowing a child to climb and fall.
• A child is burned with hot water when the caregiver was not watching.
• Two children engage in rough play, and one gets injured.
• The center allowed children to play on age-inappropriate play equipment.
• Appropriate safety equipment was not used, and a child is severely hurt.
• The daycare center failed to adequality childproof the facility.
• A daycare facility did not have enough caregivers leading to an injury

Merely failing to adequately control children can lead to extremely serious injury by the child.

Each of these examples is daycare workers being negligent. The facility is required to follow the safety regulations and is legally responsible for the negligent actions of its employees. A daycare center can be sued for its negligence for hiring incompetent employees or other acts.

Most of our daycare injury lawsuits are settled after we prove your case.  We prove negligence through our knowledge of the daycare laws and our personal injury litigation expertise. We have the experience and track record of winning you need.

Abuse and Neglect is Common

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, “Based on data gathered from 39 states, 5,321 daycare providers were found to be perpetrators of abuse or neglect.“

While many daycare providers were safe and careful, inadequate supervision, neglect, and abuse at childcare facilities are significant problems across the country. Daycare employee negligence is the leading cause of child injury at daycare centers in Texas.

What is Texas Law for Daycare Centers?

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services regulates daycare facilities. This agency inspects facilities ongoing for compliance with regulations, investigates accidents and suspected abuse, and maintains a hotline to report abuse anonymously (1-800-252-5400).

State regulations mandate strict supervision of children at daycare facilities. “Supervising children at all times means that the assigned caregiver is accountable for each child’s care.”

Supervising includes responsibility for the ongoing activity of each child, appropriate visual and auditory awareness, physical proximity, and knowledge of activity requirements, and each child’s needs.”

Stricter laws govern the supervision of infants. Generally, infants need to be watched to ensure they are not hurt. If your child has been severely injured at a daycare– call our daycare injury lawyers to discuss your family’s rights.

What is Child Protective Services Role After an Injury?

With more serious injuries, Child Protective Services (CPS) will probably be notified and investigate aimed at protecting the child from further harm. CPS will look for a rule violation by the daycare center. Even if CPS finds a rule violation, usually a slap on the wrist is all the daycare center will get.

Commonly, a child is injured, and the CPS finds no rule violation by the daycare center. Fortunately, the findings of the Child Protective Services are not binding upon the parents of the injured child. We have won many daycare accident cases when Child Protective Services did not cite the center for a rule violation.

If the daycare denies the injury occurred at the facility, CPS will interview the parents.

Choosing an attorney with a substantial track record in handling daycare negligence cases should be a top priority for you. We have handled hundreds of daycare negligence lawsuits and obtained millions for our clients.

There is NEVER a charge for an initial consultation about a daycare injury. Call us at (281) 587-1111 or click here to request a consultation.

Legal Options After Injury at a Daycare

If a child is injured at a daycare center from negligence or inadequate supervision, parents have the option to file a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of the minor child.

Generally, a personal injury lawyer must prove that the daycare employees acted negligently and that the defendant’s negligence caused the injury or death.

Wrongful death lawsuits have the same standards of proof and can be filed by parents after a child’s death. Parents may seek compensation for their damages, like medical expenses or time taken off work to care for an injured child. However, in Texas, courts take the obligations to a minor seriously and always try to ensure the minor is being treated fairly, and their best interests are represented.

Settlement Options

Usually, the court will order the minor’s money to be held in the registry of the court until the child turns eighteen. Another option for dealing with the child’s injury money is to buy an annuity from a reputable insurance company to pay the proceeds to the minor later in life. An annuity option is a preferred option for larger daycare lawsuit settlements.

Time Limits on Claims

The claims of the parents are generally subject to the two-year statute of limitations in Texas. The statute of limitations for the claims of the minor may be valid until the child turns eighteen, giving children until they are twenty to pursue some damages.

Parents should discuss both statutes of limitations with a daycare negligence attorney, so they understand the period to file and the damages they may seek. However, delaying the initial investigation or filing a lawsuit can make a case much more complicated and sometimes impossible to prove because of losing evidence and witnesses and the status of the daycare facility.

What Should I Do After My Child is Injured at a Daycare?

The first step is to look out for the health and safety of your child. Making a personal injury claim against a daycare center for an injury to your child is handled the same way as other personal injury lawsuits. The exception is when the case is settled or funded. Call our daycare injury law firm for a no-obligation consultation about your rights and options- (281) 587-1111!

Collect Evidence

As soon as you learn about your child’s injury at the daycare facility, try to collect vital evidence. In Texas, parents must sign an incident report provided by the daycare center shortly after the injury. The report is a requirement to ensure that the center notifies the parents of the incident.

Keep the incident report and all other documents you signed or filled out with the daycare center. Also:

• Ask for all videos of the incident.
• Keep notes of the personnel’s responses to your questions about what happened and if there is a video.
• Put everything that you collect into a folder.
• Keep business cards, bills, and records provided to you by the hospital or any medical providers.

We do not require that you organize the information when you meet with us, simply that you bring everything. Click here to schedule a consultation!

Take Photos

Photograph your child and even video if appropriate. The saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words” applies in personal injury litigation. It is much more powerful to show the adjuster or a jury the impact the injury has had on your child. Keep all photographs and videos digitally. Please provide us with the pictures and videos so we may preserve them on our system.

You will want to document the injuries with these photographs or video or both:

• at the scene or soon as you can take the photographs
• pictures of the area where the injury occurred
• document visible injuries on your child
• take subsequent photos during the recovery time.

Keep the dates of the photographs for organization and trial presentation purposes.

When The Daycare Won’t Cooperate with You

Frequently, the daycare center will not cooperate with you when you asked them for a video of the incident or a more detailed factual basis for the accident.

While daycare is in Texas must produce an incident report, we have found repeated examples of the report not reflecting how the accident occurred. If you have trouble with the daycare center getting the information, we can help.

Often, it takes a lawsuit to force them to provide the documents and information to win the case.

Fighting for Children For 35 Years

For over three decades, we have fought for maximum compensation for children severely injured at daycare centers. Our track record of success for Texas children is exceptional. We have handled claims for everything from wrongful death to broken bones and have numerous 6 and 7 figure settlements. Our daycare injury lawyers have been recognized as among the best in the country. And we care!

Common daycare injury cases we handle:

• Fractures and broken bones
• Cuts
• Dislocations
• Poisoning
• Surgical intervention
• Severe burns
• Other serious injuries
• Wrongful death

We are routinely referred daycare injury cases by other attorneys because of our experience in winning daycare negligence lawsuits and obtaining huge settlements for the injured child.

Talk with a Top-Rated Daycare Injury Lawyer in Houston

One of the most vital decisions you make regarding protecting your child’s financial future after a daycare injury is who you pick to represent you. The earlier in the process, you hire a daycare injury lawyer, the better.

Our daycare injury attorneys have handled numerous severe injury and wrongful death cases stemming from daycare neglect and negligence. We have a proven track record and a long list of satisfied families.

If your child died at a daycare center, we have experience in winning wrongful death cases from daycare negligence. Because we help so many families after their child has been injured at a daycare center, we have the experience, reputation, and know-how to help your family.

For every daycare injury case, we accept we handle on a contingency fee basis. That means we charge you nothing out of pocket and only get paid if we get money for your child. And because we are representing the interests of the child, our fees are typically reduced from what we usually charge. A court must approve all expenses and charges before we can be paid.

NEVER A CHARGE FOR AN INITIAL DAYCARE INJURY CASE CONSULTATION! Call us at 281-587-1111 or fill out the online case consultation request.

(Please note we do NOT handle claims against public schools).