Jonesboro Daycare Injury Lawyer
When your child is injured or hurting, you feel pain right along with them. When their injuries are caused by someone else, you also experience a range of anger, frustration, and a desire for justice. That is where the team at The Dixon Firm, P.C. can help. Our Jonesboro daycare injury lawyer can help you understand the facts of your case and get justice for your child.
Entrusting your child’s care to someone else is difficult. You naturally have expectations about your child’s safety and health when you sign him or her up for daycare. You trust that the facility is operated properly, that staff is trained, and that hazards are minimized.
Daycare Injuries in Jonesboro, GA
As much as we would all love to believe that childcare facilities are a safe haven, the reality is that accidents do happen. Sometimes accidents are just that, but other times, accidents and injuries occur that could have been prevented. After a daycare injury, it is important to determine what happened and if anyone was at fault.
At The Dixon Firm, P.C., our Jonesboro daycare injury lawyer will thoroughly review your case to determine if someone else was negligent. We will address questions, such as:
- Was your child properly being supervised?
- Were steps taken to prevent the child from suffering harm?
- Was there a hazard that was known, or should have been known to staff?
- How did the injury occur?
If your child’s injuries were the result of negligence, then you may have an actionable claim.
What are Daycare Injuries?
Daycare injuries commonly result from negligence on the part of staff members. Examples of negligence include:
- Improperly supervising children in play areas
- Walking away from a child on a changing table
- Failure to properly clean and sanitize surfaces
- Allowing children to sleep in unsafe or unsecured cribs or beds
- Failure to supervise children outside or on playgrounds
- Failure to provide adequate nutrition and hydration
- Administering medication without parental authorization
- Administering medication without obtaining a medical or allergy history
- Transporting children without proper seat belts or safety seats
- Leaving children in a hot car, van, or bus without supervision
These are all examples of the types of staff or caregiver negligence that could injure a child. In these cases, you may have a legal claim against the staff member who was negligent.
- In addition to these examples, there are also some facility-specific situations that may lead to daycare injuries. These include:
- Hiring staff without proper background/criminal history checks
- Failure to train staff prior to allowing them around children
- Failure to staff the facility with enough caregivers to properly supervise children
- Allowing staff to use verbal or physical abuse or threats as a form of discipline
- Failure to maintain the facility, including the building, grounds, and equipment
In these situations, the facility itself can be held liable for your child’s injuries. Sometimes the facility alone is liable, while other times an individual and the facility are jointly held liable.
What the Law Says about Daycare Centers
Daycare centers are required to abide by certain laws and standards. There are both federal and state laws that apply to childcare facilities. Every daycare center in every state is required to abide by the standards of care – meaning that daycare centers have a duty of care to provide a reasonably safe environment for children.
- Laws related to daycare centers include specific requirements for:
- Staff-to-child ratio
- Number of children allowed per facility
- Safety procedures for emergencies
- Playground safety and emergency procedures
Sadly, even with federal and state guidelines, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has discovered that many state policies for daycare centers fall short of the recommendations made by safety and health experts. This is concerning as children may be exposed to safety and health risks – exposure that could be avoided.
What to Do After a Daycare Injury
If your child has suffered an injury while at a daycare, you have every right to want to find out as much as possible. Not only should you learn as much as possible about the accident and injuries, but you should also explore your legal rights. If your child’s injuries were caused by negligence, you may have grounds to file a daycare injury claim.
A daycare injury claim could provide compensation your family needs to cover medical expenses, lost wages of parents, pain and suffering, and other expenses related to your child’s injuries.
To find out more about daycare injury claims, contact The Dixon Firm, P.C. to speak with our Jonesboro daycare injury lawyer. A free consultation can help answer your questions and put your family on the road to healing.