If you are a busy professional, daycare is a great option. It gives you the ability to continue working and have a steady income, while your child gets to socialize with other kids. If you already have kids, you know that they will be kids and injuries happen. However, sometimes those injuries could have been prevented and a negligent party may be at fault for your child’s injuries. Whether your child is too young for school and goes to daycare while you work or your child stays at an after-school program, it is important to know who is liable in the event of a daycare injury.
Common Daycare Injuries
Daycare injuries can occur on any scale. From minor injuries, such as cuts or bruises, to severe injuries, such as broken bones or head injuries. Injuries related to unintentional poisoning, drowning or near drowning, burns, and choking or suffocation are also common. Caretakers and daycare employees should be trained properly and do their best to ensure all potential hazards are out of reach from your children.
Duty of Care
Duty of care is defined as a requirement that a person has to act towards other and the public with the watchfulness, attention, caution and prudence that a reasonable person in the circumstances would use. Every person has a legal duty to act reasonably so as to avoid injuring another person. Specifically, when a daycare center or caretaker takes on the responsibility of your child, they are expected to act reasonably to protect and avoid injury to that child. When a caretaker or daycare center fails to do everything reasonably possible to protect a child, it breaches its duty of care.
Proving Liability in Daycare Injuries
Like any personal injury case, victims of a daycare injury claim must go through multiple steps to prove liability. Even if a release form was signed, you can bring a personal injury claim based on negligence. How is negligence and liability proved?
- The caretaker or center had a duty of care to protect your child from undue harm.
- The caretaker or center breached its duty of care.
- The breach was the direct and proximate cause of your child’s injuries.
- The injury would have been foreseeable by any caretaker under like circumstances.
My Child Has Been Injured
If your child has been injured while under the care of another party, it is important to gather any documentation that supports the claim on your child’s behalf. This documentation includes any medical records, photographs, or witness statements. It is also advised to keep an injury journal for your child, tracking symptoms and their day to day condition. This journal should be updated throughout the discovery or the injury, treatment, and recovery. In addition, keep any medical bills related to the treatment of the injures sustained.
Contact Us Today
If you suspect medical negligence may have been involved in your child’s injury while a daycare, contact us today. Daycare injury claims can be complicated and become very complex. Our experienced attorneys at The Cochran Firm Philadelphia will help your child get the compensation they deserve. Call us today at 1-800-THE-FIRM for a free case evaluation.