In spring 2024, a mother picked up her two children from a daycare center in Missouri. She discovered that her son, who is nonverbal and autistic, had a knot on his forehead. Without answers or a copy of the incident report detailing her son’s injuries, she requested to review footage captured by security cameras in the children’s classroom.
Shockingly, the video revealed a toxic culture of abusive treatment toward the children. One caregiver was captured using a paint stirrer stick to intimidate and hit children in the classroom, including the little boy. He was hit multiple times, grabbed by the wrist, and dragged across the floor by his hand and arm several times. The same caregiver made the little boy stand facing a wall in timeout for nearly an hour.
This mistreatment of children was not an isolated incident involving one caregiver. A second caregiver hit the nonverbal boy in the face multiple times and flipped him on his nap cot, forcing him to hit his head. The video also captured her hitting the boy’s face and head repeatedly.
Once the mother contacted the authorities and sought medical treatment for her two children, she contacted our partner firm in Missouri. Knowing our track record when it comes to holding negligent daycare centers accountable, they immediately brought us in to assist with helping this family get justice. We fought to secure a life-changing result for the family so they could move forward.
How Did This Daycare Center in Missouri Break Childcare Laws?
While surveillance cameras in daycare centers often give parents peace of mind and serve as a form of transparency when it comes to safety, in this case, they revealed a culture of negligent and abusive care for children. What happened to the young siblings in the case was not an isolated incident.
Footage captured caregivers frequently leaving children unsupervised in the classroom. On one occasion, children left alone in the classroom got into a physical altercation with no adult there to quickly intervene.
In addition, it appeared as though prohibited punishment methods were common practice. When a caregiver picked up the paint stirrer stick, children were seen flinching in fear.
Daycare directors are required to check on and supervise all caregivers at a facility to ensure they are keeping children under their watch safe and complying with state laws. However, in this case, the director admitted to ignoring this law since the center was extremely understaffed and the director was otherwise occupied.
An independent state investigation cited the Missouri daycare center for eight different violations regarding this case, including a lack of supervision, using physical punishment tactics, and threatening children. In addition, the center’s safety track record was tarnished with more than 21 violations for similar failures that led to the injuries of the siblings in this case.
How Did The Button Law Firm Help This Family Move Forward?
As you can imagine, these children suffered from the time they spent at this daycare center in Missouri.
The little boy displayed signs of trauma-induced anxiety. With his limited vocabulary, he would repeatedly say “ouch” after the incident, touching his forehead, even after it had healed. Prior to the incidents, he was curious and liked to exercise his independence. That quickly changed: He became needy for attention and reassurance, and experienced emotional outbursts. He also experienced disruptions to his sleep patterns, only able to fall asleep after being soothed by his mother for hours or co-sleeping with his sister, who was also from the cruel and harsh treatment at the Missouri daycare center.
Looking up to the adults who were responsible for her at the daycare center, the young girl mimicked their dangerous behaviors, including using objects to hit her brother if he misbehaved. She then struggled with discipline from being placed in time-out, as she had been left alone for prolonged amounts of time while at the Missouri daycare center. She also experienced milestone regressions, including potty training and sleep issues.
Even the children’s mother suffered a great deal from the daycare incident. She lost all trust in any childcare help and became extremely anxious about other people watching her children. As a working mother, it placed an extreme amount of stress on her on top of trying to help her children in the aftermath.
With our help, the family was able get justice with a life-changing result and access the resources they needed to move forward in a healthy way.
Contact The Button Law Firm If Your Child Was Injured at a Daycare Center
If your child was physically or emotionally injured at a daycare center, contact our experienced daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. With offices in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, we are ready to listen, fight for your family, and help your family move forward. Our lawyers at The Button Law Firm are recognized on the prestigious Texas Super Lawyers list, and we can help guide you after a traumatizing incident involving your child. We work on contingency, meaning we don’t charge you or collect any upfront fees to get started on your case. Call us at 214-699-4409, email us at intake@buttonlawfirm.com, or fill out a contact form for a free case evaluation.
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