Was your child injured in an accident at daycare? Who’s liable? What are your next steps?

Thousands of children are placed in daycare each day. Their parents expect their children to be taken care of and protected at daycare while they’re away at work. And while the majority of the time they are protected at daycare, the small amount of time they aren’t is terrifying! If a child was injured in an accident because of the negligence of a daycare staff member, there are legal steps a parent can take. 

Here’s what you need to know if your child was injured in an accident at daycare:

You probably signed a typical waiver when you first signed your child up for daycare. This waiver does most likely has two provisions that you should pay attention to.

The first is that it allows the daycare to consent to emergency medical care in the event that they cannot contact the parents. These sections of the waiver are usually upheld in courts of law because they have the child’s best interest in mind.

The second (and more important) section in the waivers that parents should pay attention to are in regards to releasing the daycare from liability when a child is injured. These are called Indemnity Clauses. The daycare does not want to be sued by the parent’s in the event that there’s an accident and the child is injured.  

So what if you sign that waiver and then your child is injured, or even dies because of the daycare’s negligence?  What rights do you have?

These indemnity clauses will not stand up in court. If they did then daycares would have free passes to act negligently without any recourse. Additionally, the courts generally don’t allow the parent’s to sign away the children’s rights. Therefore, even if a parent signs this waiver, if their child is injured, they can still bring a personal injury lawsuit against the daycare.

In order to successfully sue the daycare for a personal injury, the plaintiff must prove the following:

They must prove that the daycare had a duty of care to the child. Basically an obligation to protect the child. They must show that the daycare failed in their duty of care and that breach of duty of care directly caused the child’s injuries. The hardest part to show will be proving that the daycare should have taken precautions and foreseen the injuries occurring. Basically, did they do everything they could to avoid an accident and protect the children from harm? Lastly, the plaintiff must show that the child suffered damages such as medical bills or emotional trauma or distress. If the plaintiff can prove that the daycare center acted negligently they can prove liability.

In order to collect damages, the plaintiff must present evidence of the injury. Insurance companies will require the plaintiff to submit evidence of any injury, loss, or distress. This evidence could be medical bills, prescription bills, or lost wages for the parent. The court will also take the mental state of the child into account and if they suffered emotional pain when deciding compensation. Therefore, it’s important to seek medical attention right away and keep records of all expenses.