After-School Program and Daycare Injury Risks

When you drop your children off at daycare or an afterschool program, the last possibility you want to consider is the potential for one of your children to sustain an avoidable injury while in another’s care. Unfortunately, for various reasons, sometimes children are harmed at daycare centers or while participating in afterschool programs in Boston and throughout Massachusetts and the surrounding New England states.

The following overview will help you better understand some of the more common injuries and risk factors that parents should be aware of in these settings. Depending on the circumstances, if your child was injured at a daycare or afterschool program, you may have grounds to file an insurance claim or lawsuit seeking compensation for medical bills and related losses.

Injuries which may be relatively common at Massachusetts and New England daycare centers and afterschool programs for kids include:

Slip-and-Falls and Trip-and-Falls

Slip and falls are some of the most common injury-causing accidents that anyone of any age can be involved in, and children at daycare centers and afterschool programs may be at a particular risk of being harmed in such incidents. Young kids are full of energy and foreseeably  tend to run around in these settings, but their risk of injury may increase significantly should they encounter hazards like uneven or broken flooring, spills, unanticipated obstacles, or other such conditions

For example, perhaps your child was injured at a daycare center when they slipped over a spill that had not been promptly cleaned up by a staff member. Whether you’re eligible to receive compensation in these circumstances depends on various details, such as whether, by the time your child’s accident occurred, a staff member should have reasonably known of the hazardous condition and taken steps to eliminate it. A legal professional can review your case and help you better understand your potential options in a situation like this.

Allergic Reactions

Daycare centers and afterschool programs should account for the various allergies that children may have. This involves taking reasonable steps to guard against exposure to allergens. You may have a case if your child was harmed because they experienced an allergic reaction in a setting where the responsible adults failed to take such measures.

Choking

Choking accidents at daycare centers and afterschool programs are more common among particularly young children. This is because young kids may be more inclined to explore the world around them by tasting various objects or items. Anyone who has raised young kids knows that you need to be on the lookout to make sure they do not put hazardous items in their mouths. Unfortunately, a child may be at risk of a choking accident while participating in an afterschool program or at a daycare center if adults do not monitor them properly. Also, any small arts hazards should be eliminated from these settings.

Burns and Electrocution

For various reasons, children at daycare centers and afterschool programs may be at risk of exposure to hot liquids or other substances that could cause burns. Again, if a child is injured due to exposure to such a substance, it could be because those tasked with providing for their safety were negligent.

Electrical outlets should have proper safety devices, to prevent a child from engaging with the dangerous electric current.

Negligence and Liability

Proving negligence is critical in cases such as these. If your child was injured at a daycare center or afterschool program in Massachusetts or the surrounding New England states, whether you’re eligible for compensation depends on whether you can show that your child was harmed because others were inattentive or careless.

It is also worth noting that the daycare center or those running the afterschool program are not always the only potentially liable parties in cases such as these. For example, if your child was injured in a playground accident because a piece of playground equipment was defective, the manufacturer, designer or installer of said equipment may be liable.

Such factors illustrate the importance of coordinating with legal professionals who can help you better understand how to proceed in a case such as yours. That is exactly what you will find at Swartz and Swartz PC, where our Boston child injury lawyers will review your case and offer aggressive representation if you decide to work with us.

If your child has been injured at a daycare center or afterschool program in Boston or the surrounding areas, contact us online today or call us at (617) 742-1900 to set up your free case review.

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If you or someone you know, needs help from a lawyer, contact the law offices of Swartz & Swartz, use our live chat, or send us a message using the form below and we’ll get in touch to assess your case and how we can help.