Fort Worth Daycare Injury Attorney

Experienced Fort Worth Daycare Injury Attorney on Your Side

If your child has suffered injury or neglect in his or her daycare setting, it can be extremely helpful to speak to a Fort Worth daycare injury attorney. Every single day, millions of working parents place their children in some form of childcare or daycare. Some of these childcare facilities will be in a professional facility, while others will be in private homes. Either way, those that provide childcare for parents are expected to take good care of the children in their care, ensuring they are safe, and free from danger or harm.

According to USA Today, in 2017 Texas officials reported that 818 children sustained serious injuries while in child care. According to Texas Health and Human Services, there were 16,904 daycare facilities in Texas in 2020. Unfortunately, only about half of all states require licensed childcare programs to report serious incidents. In the state of Texas, injuries that require medical treatment, illnesses that require hospitalization, and any situation that places a child at risk must be recorded on the Licensing Incident/Illness Report Form 7239.

The American Statesman conducted a yearlong investigation into problems at Texas childcare facilities. Thousands of documents were read, dozens of daycare safety records researched, and existing data analyzed. The Statesman found that many Texas daycare facilities had dangerous conditions that left hundreds of children in need of medical care, even resulting in death for some.

The attorneys at Noteboom—The Law Firm, have extensive experience helping parents cope with the aftermath of a child’s injury or neglect. We understand the emotions involved—after all, you love your child and cannot fathom someone causing (or failing to prevent) injury or neglect. We have almost four decades of experience helping people like you face an untenable situation, receive the help and the financial compensation you need and deserve. While money does not change what happened to your child, it can make getting your lives back on track easier.

What Are Some Types of Neglect and Injury That Can Occur in Childcare or Daycare?

Signs of neglect may not always be readily apparent so you may not know when to contact a Fort Worth daycare injury attorney; children typically receive their share of bumps and bruises simply from playing. If, however, a parent notices the following, daycare neglect should definitely be considered:

• If your child often has unexplained bite marks, bruises, or other injuries, he or she could be a victim of abuse by other children. Daycare employees must ensure all children are safe from abuse by older or bigger children.
• If your child constantly seems unkempt or dirty when you pick them up, neglect could be occurring.
• If your child seems extremely hungry or thirsty when you pick them up from daycare, their basic needs are not being met.
• While many children will resist going to daycare simply because they do not want to leave their parents, if the reactions are extreme, or you notice strange behaviors when it is time to attend daycare, take it seriously and investigate further.
• If you see regressions in behavioral milestones like potty training, this could be a sign of neglect.

Negligent actions on the part of a daycare or childcare facility that can lead to injury and/or neglect include:

• Chronic understaffing
• Lack of qualified caretakers
• Failure to perform extensive background checks on employees
• Children that are frequently left unattended
• Dangerous objects or chemicals left within reach of the children
• Failure to attend to basic needs—feeding, bathing, changing, and providing safe play areas

How Do You Prove Negligence in a Daycare/Childcare Injury Claim?

Proving negligence in a daycare setting is much the same as proving negligence in medical malpractice or other types of personal injury claims. You will first need to show there was a duty of care required of the daycare staff and daycare owners. This means that a reasonably prudent person would provide a certain standard of care for children in a daycare setting. Those involved in designing or arranging the daycare environment must ensure there are no existing dangers or safety issues.

Once the standard of care is established, it must be determined whether that the duty of care was breached—the classroom equipment, restroom facilities, or playground equipment was not maintained in a reasonably clean and sanitary environment, children had access to dangerous objects, or there was clear neglect in hiring or monitoring employees. If the breach of the duty of care resulted in a child’s injury, then those responsible may be held liable. Finally, it must be shown that the breach of duty of care resulted in specific harm or injury to your child. A Fort Worth daycare injury attorney can help you through this process.

What are the Common Injuries Resulting from Childcare Injury and Neglect?

When children are not being properly supervised, or when dangerous conditions exist at the daycare facility, injuries can occur. Most injuries received by children while at daycare are relatively minor bruises or scrapes. Other times, the injuries are much more serious and can be the clear result of daycare neglect. Such injuries include:

• Burns (from pots or pans with hot foods or liquids unattended on the stove, or electrical burns from unprotected outlets)
• Falls resulting in broken bones or other serious injuries
• Poisoning resulting from chemicals that are not out of reach of children, or properly locked up
• Drownings that are the result of an area of water that is not properly fenced off from access by children
• Choking from small items that are clear hazards to small children
• Traumatic brain injury from a fall or an accident in a daycare automobile

Injuries to children in a daycare or childcare setting most often occur on playgrounds. Children must be properly supervised on playground equipment, or traumatic brain injuries, strangulation, or broken bones can occur. Inside play areas with sharp-edged furniture, no child-proofing efforts, bookcases that are not secured to the wall, or a kitchen area that is not restricted can result in injury to your child. Toys with small pieces can become choking hazards, particularly when children are not properly supervised. While swimming pools are rare at childcare facilities, some home daycares do have pools. Bodies of water must be fully fenced and made impossible for children to access.

Contact a Fort Worth Daycare Injury Attorney Near You

If your child is the victim of injury or neglect from a daycare facility, it is imperative that you speak to a knowledgeable Fort Worth daycare injury attorney and file a civil suit. Daycare negligence should never be tolerated; these facilities have an obligation to the children they are responsible for. When they fall short of the obligation and injury or neglect occurs, they must be held accountable.

The attorneys at Noteboom—The Law Firm can help you through this difficult time while handling every legal aspect of holding accountable those responsible. We have an on-staff investigator and have been helping others in similar circumstances since 1982. We prepare every case as though it were going to trial.  Contact Noteboom—The Law Firm, today!