One of the hardest decisions you’ll ever make is choosing a daycare you can trust. It’s already a big change for both you and your child learning about this strange new place, meeting new people, and having new experiences as a personal injury lawyer knows all too well.
You’re not just picking a place for your child to go during the day — you’re putting your child’s safety in someone else’s hands. You pray for the best, but despite your best efforts, sometimes things go wrong. So, what happens when your child gets hurt while at daycare?
Daycares have a legal duty to keep children safe. If a daycare fails to meet that duty and your child is hurt as a result, you may be able to hold them legally responsible.
1. What Is Daycare Negligence?
Daycare negligence occurs when a childcare provider fails to take reasonable steps to ensure your child’s safety — and it leads to injury or harm. This can happen in a number of ways.
Common Examples Of Daycare Negligence:
- Lack Of Supervision: A toddler’s finger gets smashed in a door by another child because the caregiver stepped out of the room to take a phone call.
- Hazardous Playgrounds: A child falls off a rusty piece of playground equipment that is not age appropriate onto an improperly padded surface and hits her head suffering a serious concussion.
- Dangerous Conditions: Cleaning chemicals are left under a sink in reach of children, and a child ingests a toxic substance.
- Improper Food Handling: A child with a known peanut allergy is given a snack containing peanuts, despite parents notifying the daycare in writing.
Unfortunately, each of these examples has happened. Let’s be clear, no matter what the daycare tells you after the fact, these are not accidents, this is neglect. If something like this occurs, it reflects a failure to follow basic safety rules, and if those rules were followed your child may not have been injured. And under most state laws, if your child is hurt because of this kind of carelessness, you may have grounds for a daycare injury lawsuit as our friends at Mickey Keenan P.A. can share.
2. Who Can Be Held Responsible?
When a daycare injury occurs, it’s not always obvious who’s legally responsible. That’s where an experienced child injury attorney comes in —we help investigate if the daycare violated any safety standards, and if so, who should be held accountable.
Possible Liable Parties:
- The Daycare Owner Or Facility: If the daycare cut corners on staffing or ignored safety regulations.
- Private VPK Teachers And Administrators: Often they are bound by the same if not more stringent safety standards.
- Employees Or Caregivers: If a caregiver left children unsupervised or acted inappropriately.
- Maintenance Contractors: If a third-party repair person installed unsafe equipment that led to injury.
Example:
Let’s say a daycare hired a playground company to install a new slide, and the slide was installed incorrectly. A child slips off the side and fractures a leg. In this case, both the daycare and the contractor may share liability. These cases can be complex, which is why having a personal injury attorney is so important.
3. What Should You Do If Your Child Is Injured?
If your child was hurt at daycare and you suspect negligence, take these steps as soon as possible:
- Get Medical Help Right Away: Always put your child’s health first. Visit the doctor or ER and keep all records.
- Document The Injury: Take photos of injuries, save clothing, and write down your version of events while it’s fresh.
- Request An Incident Report And/Or Video: Ask the daycare for a written report and details of how they say the injury happened. If the daycare has cameras, make sure to ask to have them send you the video and keep that until the incident has been fully addressed or until you hire an attorney. Note: If the daycare refuses to give you the video or incident report, make sure to give them a notice in writing (think email) that you want the video from the entire day preserved. I have seen videos go missing, or have technical malfunctions at key moments. The importance of this evidence can’t be overstated, so you should take extra steps to make sure you tell the daycare in writing that you want them to preserve the evidence immediately. (This is one reason of many why you should skip ahead to step #5 quickly, because a skilled lawyer will make sure to request preservation of this evidence in a formal manner.)
- Report The Incident: File a complaint with the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF).
- Call A Personal Injury Attorney: A lawyer who handles daycare negligence in Florida can help preserve evidence and guide your case.
Real-Life Example:
A 3-year-old suffered a concussion when she fell off a climbing structure with no padding underneath. The daycare didn’t meet the state’s safety regulations for fall zones. A lawyer helped the family file a claim and recover compensation for medical bills and emotional trauma.
Daycares are supposed to be safe, nurturing environments — but accidents caused by negligent daycare staff are far too common. If your child has been hurt, don’t brush it off. These injuries can have long-term effects on a child’s health and well-being.
You’re not just protecting your child by speaking up — you’re also helping hold careless daycare providers accountable, which can prevent future harm to others.
If your child was injured at daycare, and you believe negligence was involved, contact a lawyer today for a consultation with a trusted daycare injury lawyer. They will review your case, answer your questions, and help you take the next step toward justice.
Your child deserves to be safe. Lawyers are here to help make that happen.