In May 2022, negligent caregivers at a daycare center in Midlothian, Texas, caused an 18-month-old boy to be severely burned by a bottle warmer at the facility. The child’s assigned caregivers were occupied with other tasks when they left the toddler unattended to play near an unsecured bottle warmer full of scalding hot water. The gadget was knocked over on a shelf and fell on the young boy, and hot water used to heat up the bottle scalded his legs and body. He was left in excruciating pain, and his skin started peeling off his legs.
By opting not to seek medical attention for the boy, providing false information, and downplaying the incident to his parents, the Midlothian daycare center failed to follow important Texas daycare laws immediately following the incident.
The boy’s parents contacted our Texas daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm to hold the Midlothian daycare center accountable for their son’s severe burn injuries and for acting negligently by failing to comply with childcare laws that would have prevented the incident as well as mishandling the steps daycare centers are supposed to take following a serious incident. Our experienced legal team secured justice for this family through monetary compensation that covered the boy’s extensive medical bills and any other damages that have helped him and his parents heal and move forward.
How Did the Daycare Center in Midlothian Fail a Young Boy and His Family?
Bottle warmers are helpful gadgets for daycare centers with nurseries—they can heat a baby’s bottle without boiling the contents, making them useful during feeding times. However, the boiling water that heats the formula is a known danger to little ones at daycare centers. That is why Texas daycare laws, also known as the minimum standards, specifically address how daycare centers should use and store these small appliances. The standards require all daycare centers to:
- Train all caregivers on how to safely use and store bottle warmers
- Closely supervise children in a classroom or nursery where bottle warmers are used and kept
- Keep all bottle warmers out of a child’s reach on a table so that it cannot be knocked over
- Ensure that all bottle warmer cords are secured, not dangling off a counter or table, so that little hands cannot grab or yank them
The Midlothian daycare center did not follow the standards that would have prevented the young boy from being severely burned.
The daycare center in Midlothian continued to act negligently in how it responded to the bottle warmer incident that caused the boy’s injuries. Workers at the facility did not seek emergency services or provide medical care for the little boy, even though his skin started peeling off his legs, which indicated that his burns were severe. The daycare center also attempted to downplay the incident by providing the child’s father with false information. When he arrived at the end of the day to pick up his young son, he rushed the child to a local emergency room to treat his obvious injuries. Even more concerning, the Midlothian daycare center chose not to document and report the boy’s injuries to the appropriate state agency, as required by law.
Sadly, the safety failures at the Midlothian daycare center that caused the little boy’s bottle warmer burns were not an isolated incident. The daycare center had been cited 27 times for its lack of supervision and negligent practices.
How Did The Button Law Firm Get Justice for the Young Boy Who Was Severely Burned at the Midlothian Daycare Center?
As you can imagine, this bottle warmer scalding incident at the Midlothian daycare center traumatized the child. He suffered extensive burns on his legs and experienced excruciating pain. His severe burns were initially treated at a local emergency room and required additional attention and care, which is uncomfortable for a young child.
Our Texas daycare injury lawyers fought and were successful in holding the Midlothian daycare center accountable for causing the boy’s severe bottle warmer burns. The boy and his family could move forward with a settlement agreement that compensated them for all the damages they experienced.
The Button Law Firm Can Help After a Daycare Burn Caused by a Bottle Warmer
If a bottle warmer burns your child at a daycare center in Texas, contact our experienced daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. With attorneys in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, we are ready to listen, fight for your family, and help your family move forward. Our attorneys 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 [email protected], or fill out a contact form for a free case evaluation.
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