What Is Daycare Negligence?

You trust the staff at a daycare center to keep your child safe throughout the day. Unfortunately, sometimes daycare ownership is negligent. Children may be put in harm’s way when this happens.

Hopefully, your child will never be hurt as a result of daycare negligence. However, if you’re a parent with a child in daycare, it’s important to have a general understanding of what constitutes daycare negligence, and what your legal options may be when negligent daycare center owners or staff members fail to properly care for your child.

What You Need to Know About Daycare Negligence

A daycare center’s owners and operators have certain responsibilities regarding the safety and health of the children in their care. To the best of their ability, owners must strive to prevent children in their care from being harmed in accidents or developing health conditions at a daycare center.

Negligence occurs when the owners or operators of a daycare center don’t fulfill these responsibilities. Be aware, some daycare centers attempt to protect themselves by asking customers to sign liability waivers or other such documents when enrolling their children.

You often don’t actually have to sign such a document. Additionally, even if you already have signed a liability clause or waiver, a skilled daycare negligence attorney may still be able to help you take legal action.

Common Examples of Daycare Negligence

To better understand what does and doesn’t constitute daycare negligence, it’s helpful to review some potential examples of how negligence at a daycare center can endanger a child. Examples to consider include:

• Staff members of a daycare center could negligently leave small objects that pose choking hazards in the presence of children.
• Ownership of a daycare center may fail to address potentially hazardous conditions on the property. Examples of such hazardous conditions may include (but are not limited to) asbestos, unsafe playground equipment, damaged flooring, etc.
• Staff members of a daycare center might fail to properly supervise children at all times. When children lack necessary supervision, their chances of being hurt in otherwise avoidable accidents may increase.
• Staff members of a daycare center could be negligent if they fail to attend to the needs of a child in their care. For instance, they might not feed a child sufficiently, or they could send a child home without changing a soiled diaper.

Again, those are just a few examples. If you’re not sure whether the actions (or inaction) of staff members or ownership at your child’s daycare center qualify as negligence, review your case with an attorney. They can help you better understand whether you have grounds to file a claim or lawsuit.

Signs of Daycare Abuse & Neglect

In extreme cases, daycare negligence may qualify as neglect or abuse. Sadly, the young victims of daycare abuse are sometimes unable to report what is happening to them on their own.

As a parent, it’s up to you to keep an eye out for signs of daycare abuse. They may include:

• Unexplained bruises, scratches, or other such signs of harm
• Behavioral changes, such as becoming increasingly aggressive or increasingly in need of being comforted
• A child appearing fearful in the presence of certain daycare center employees
• A child desperately not wanting to go to daycare
• A child reverting back to old habits, such as sucking their thumb or wetting the bed

Remove your child from the situation as soon as you suspect they may be the victim of abuse. Even if you eventually discover that your concerns are unfounded, you don’t want to risk your child’s safety.

Seeking Compensation for Daycare Negligence in Massachusetts

Has your child been harmed due to daycare negligence in Massachusetts? If so, you may be able to seek compensation by filing a claim against the insurance of the daycare center. If the insurance company won’t offer a proper settlement, you might also have the option of seeking damages in court by filing a lawsuit.

Filing a claim or lawsuit allows you to pursue financial compensation for your child’s medical bills and other such losses/damages resulting from daycare negligence. However, it’s important to understand that collecting the compensation your child may deserve can require gathering substantial evidence, calculating the financial value of all relevant losses, and more.

These aren’t tasks you need to handle on your own. At Swartz & Swartz, P.C., a Boston daycare negligence lawyer is available to review your case for free. If you decide to work with us, we’ll offer aggressive representation for both you and your child. Get started today by contacting us online or calling us at (617) 742-1900.

Need Help?

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.