Many parents find it difficult to drop their young child off at a Houston daycare center for the first time. However, over time, their unease usually lessens as they grow to trust the staff more and more. Unfortunately, sometimes kids get hurt while they’re at daycare. Very often, it’s simply because they were playing and they fell. In such cases, no one is to blame. However, there are times when children get injured because someone deliberately hurt them or was negligent in protecting them.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is responsible for the regulation of daycare centers and it imposes minimum standards that facilities must follow. Centers that don’t meet these standards can’t keep their licenses. Childcare facilities are required to do everything they reasonably can to ensure the health and safety of their charges.
Also, they must have an appropriate ratio of staff to children. If your child is injured as a result of negligence, the facility can be held legally responsible, but you will likely need the help of a Houston negligence attorney to get the compensation you deserve. You’ll naturally be angry if your little one suffers harm, but you need to think rationally and take the correct steps.
Steps to Take After Your Child Is Injured
You first need to try to get as much information as possible. You probably won’t be able to get a clear picture of what happened from your child. If your child isn’t yet talking, you won’t get any information at all. However, you should talk to the person who was in charge when the incident occurred. Try to get the names of the manager or supervisor on duty as well as all the staff members who were working at the time.
Find out how the incident occurred and what was done after.
Even if the injury was minor, someone should have called you. If the child was badly hurt, the daycare provider should also have sought emergency medical attention. Take photos of your child’s injuries and be sure to keep track of all the medical bills and reports related to the incident. If there’s surveillance footage that shows what happened, ask if you can review it.
It’s quite likely that you won’t readily get the information you want so you need to be prepared for this. Daycare center owners have attorneys who will advise them not to share information that could be damaging. Therefore, you may get the runaround when you go seeking answers. You’ll likely need to work closely with a Houston personal injury lawyer to prove that someone harmed your child. If you suspect negligence or deliberate action, you should call the police.
The daycare center is legally required to give you a written report of the accident and also submit it to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. The department will investigate the incident and it may find that the facility committed an infraction. However, you’ll need to file an insurance claim and possibly a lawsuit if you want to get compensation for your child’s injuries. The outcome of the DFPS investigation may help to strengthen your case.
Making a Case for Compensation
As with any personal injury case, you need to prove certain elements. First, you need to show that the daycare center owed your child a duty of care. This shouldn’t be difficult to prove since all daycare providers have a responsibility to protect the children in their custody. However, you also need to show that the facility breached that duty. This will be harder since you’ll need to find supporting evidence. Finally, you need to prove that the breach resulted in injuries to your child. In a case involving assault, you’ll likely be alleging that the center didn’t have adequate security and/or it didn’t properly screen its employees.
Contact the Willis Law Firm Today!
If your child was not properly supervised or the center’s security was inadequate, you may be able to hold the facility responsible. While accidents are common among children, assault is not a normal part of the daycare experience. You need to get to the bottom of the situation, not only so you can recover damages but so you protect other children. You will need help in proving that the facility was negligent and that this led to your child’s injuries. Contact the Houston personal injury attorneys at the Willis Law Firm today to get the help you need. Your first consultation is free and you only pay when we get compensation for you.