March 23, 2020 Slip, Trip, or Fall Chris Stolmeier

San Antonio Slip and Fall Lawyers

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, nearly 50% of children in the U.S. under 5 attend out of home care. This means that many of us must entrust our young children to the care of people who are most likely strangers. While most children are safe at daycares, some children can suffer a daycare injury. If your child has suffered a daycare injury or you currently have your children attend a daycare it is important to read this article.

Parental and Children’s Daycare Injury Rights

If you have enrolled your child into a daycare program you have most certainly been met with a liability waiver form. These forms typically tell you that as a parent, you cannot sue or hold the daycare center liable for any daycare injury your child experiences due to the daycare’s negligence. You may believe that since you signed this liability waiver form the court will not allow you to bring a lawsuit against the daycare for negligently causing injuries to your child. 

However, many courts have held that these liability waiver forms are not enforceable due to public policy restrictions. Courts have determined that if these liability waivers were enforced, then daycares could take less care in maintaining their facilities and supervising children because they would not be held liable for any negligent harm as a result of this lack of care. 

Additionally, courts have determined that simply because the parent has signed away his or her rights to file a negligence lawsuit against a daycare for injuries to his or her child, this does not mean that the child has given up his or her rights to sue. The idea behind a negligence suit is to allow the person who was injured to be compensated for his or her injuries. Preventing the child who has suffered injuries as a result of daycare negligence from filing a lawsuit because the child’s parent signed a liability waiver contradicts the purpose of negligence law. Now, while your child can still recover compensation for his daycare injury, the child will need an adult to bring the lawsuit on his or her behalf.

So if your child has suffered a daycare injury or you currently have your children attend a daycare it is important to save a copy of the daycare’s liability waiver for your records.

Possible Daycare Injuries

The injuries that your child can suffer at a daycare include but are not limited to the following: 

• • Cuts
  • Bruises
  • Sprains
  • Bleeding 
  • Bites
  • Punctures
  • Ligament damage
  • Broken bones
  • Burns
  • Choking
  • Back injuries
  • Neck injuries
  • Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
  • Chemical ingestion
  • Chemical exposure to eyes
  • Illness
  • Drowning
  • Suffocation
  • Death

How Your a Daycare Injury Can Occur

The injuries that your child can suffer at a daycare may or may not be caused by the following:

• • Slip and Fall
  • Lack of supervision
  • Lack of necessary safety equipment
  • Inadequate daycare employee-to-child ratio
  • Broken toys or equipment
  • Failure to separate aggressive children
  • Failure to clean slippery surfaces
  • Failure to repair uneven surfaces
  • Failure to restrict children from entering dangerous areas, such as stairwells
  • Failure to maintain bathrooms
  • Failure to monitor food brought from home. Some children have food allergies.
  • Negligent hiring of employees
  • Failure to properly administer medication
  • Failure to exclude ill children from the daycare
  • Inadequacy or lack of safety procedures
  • Defective furniture

Proving the Daycare’s Liability

There are many theories of negligence that may be applicable to hold the daycare responsible for your child’s injuries, such as premises negligence, negligent activity, negligent undertaking, negligent hiring, and negligent supervision. But the most basic claim is to show the daycare was negligent for your child’s injuries. To show the daycare was negligent, you must show:

• • The daycare owed your child a duty of care;
  • The daycare breached that duty of care to your child;
  • The daycare proximately caused your child’s injuries; and
  • The injuries your child suffered resulted in damages.

How Will a Lawsuit Proceed?

A lawsuit against the daycare that negligently caused injuries to your child is not much different from any other lawsuit based on negligence. The main exception is a parent, guardian, or the court will need to bring the lawsuit on behalf of the child. Other than that, this article can help you understand what to expect from your lawsuit.

Contact Stolmeier Law, San Antonio Slip and Fall Lawyers

We are San Antonio Slip and Fall lawyers. Stolmeier Law has served children injured at daycares in San Antonio and South Texas for over 35 years. Stolmeier Law is dedicated to getting personal injury victims the most compensation possible. We will never treat you like just another case and we will not pass your case down to an inexperienced lawyer. Unlike other law firms, at Stolmeier Law, you will be able to put a face to the name of the lawyer that is actually representing you, not just to the lawyer on TV. So if your child has been seriously injured at a daycare do not hesitate to contact Stolmeier Law, San Antonio Slip and Fall lawyers. Slip and Fall? Call Stolmeier Law.