Parents may be able to recover compensation for their child’s injuries that occurred at a daycare facility. They may be able to hold the daycare, its staff members, and other third parties legally responsible for the injuries.
Rights of Parents Whose Children Are Injured at Daycare
Many daycare facilities provide parents with daycare contracts that feature a no-liability clause. This move is usually an attempt to make parents believe that daycare facilities can’t be held liable for injuries sustained by kids in their care. Parents or legal guardians have a right to file lawsuits against daycare facilities for their children’s injuries regardless of what their daycare contracts say.
Signing a no-liability clause doesn’t absolve a daycare facility from the responsibility of acting prudently and ensuring all children in their care are safe. It also doesn’t prevent a parent of a child injured at daycare from taking legal action against the negligent party. On top of reporting any daycare injury or harm to the police, the parent can also recover monetary damages by suing the daycare or other responsible third parties.
Following Appropriate Steps After a Child Has Suffered Daycare Injuries
Young children cannot file an injury claim on their own behalf. Fortunately, the “next friend” rule allows a parent or legal guardian to bring an injury claim against the daycare facility and other liable parties on the child’s behalf. The following are steps that a parent of a child injured at daycare should follow.
Documenting the Child’s Injury
Young children may be unable to properly communicate their injury. For this reason, parents should always monitor their children closely to increase the odds of noticing when their children have sustained daycare injuries, such as burns, broken bones, and traumatic brain injuries. They should write comprehensive and dated notes, and report to a nearby police department.
Seeking Immediate Medical Treatment for the Injured Child
Once a parent discovers that his or her child has sustained a daycare injury, the parent should get medical attention and treatment for the child immediately. The parent should also safely keep medical bills and receipts of expenses incurred while seeking medical attention for the child. These receipts could help a personal injury attorney recover monetary damages from the liable daycare facility and other parties. The daycare attorney can also review the medical records and expenses incurred to determine the extent of the child’s monetary damages in an injury claim.
