In March 2023, caregivers at a daycare center in Rockwall left a child unattended in a crib so that they could perform janitorial duties. Unsupervised, the child managed to climb out of the crib and fell headfirst on the ground.
Despite his red, swollen, and bruised head, the Rockwall daycare center did not follow state-mandated childcare safety laws, also known as the minimum standards, including notifying the boy’s parents or giving them an incident report about their son’s injuries. Instead, the daycare center in Rockwall waited two days to tell them what happened to their son.
The boy’s parents contacted our Texas daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm, and our legal team held the negligent Rockwall daycare center accountable for the boy’s injuries and mishandling of the incident. Our lawyers got justice for this Rockwall family by securing a settlement that compensated them for their son’s medical bills and other damages.
How This Rockwall Daycare Center Failed a Young Boy and His Family
The Rockwall daycare center had a duty to closely supervise all of the children in its care, including the little boy in this case. Instead, one of its caregivers left the young boy alone and unattended to clean a different area. Because the caregiver was occupied with another task, no one was around to watch the boy and intervene when he began to climb out of his crib, which led to his fall.
The Rockwall daycare center also chose to break Texas daycare laws when no one told the boy’s parents about his fall and head injuries shortly after the incident happened. The boy’s parents noticed the obvious signs of swelling and bruising on their son’s head and demanded to see the classroom’s surveillance footage of the incident to find out what happened. The video showed the young boy’s neck significantly bent backward as he slammed to the ground.
Under the minimum standards, the Rockwall daycare center was obligated to:
- Ensure the safety of children in its care,
- Supervise children at all times,
- Have caregivers demonstrate competency and good judgment,
- Ensure caregivers are free of other activities such as janitorial duties that do not directly involve teaching, care, and supervision,
- Train and supervise caregivers to ensure they comply with minimum standards,
- Notify parents of injuries to children,
- Complete incident reports that detail what happened, who was in the room, and if the child received medical attention, as they are supposed to do following incidents involving injuries to children.
An investigation into this case found that the Rockwall daycare center had been cited seven times by the state, mostly for the same infractions of not supervising children closely and failing to report incidents to parents. This history revealed that the Rockwall daycare center was negligent and did not take safety precautions seriously.
How BLF Daycare Injury Lawyers Held the Rockwall Daycare Center Accountable
As you can imagine, falling, hurting your head, and being left alone was an emotionally shattering experience for the little boy. He showed signs of trauma following his fall. For example, he became anxious and scared around other people and even experienced elevated mood swings.
He also regressed in behavioral milestones. He wanted to use a pacifier, increased his use of baby talk, and became clingy around his parents for protection. He even began to process the daycare incident that was beyond his control by developing a need to control his surrounding environment—everything had to be placed a particular way at all times.
With the help of our daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm, the little boy was able to get the help and resources he needed to process his injuries and move forward in a healthy way. His parents were also able to get some peace of mind and move forward from the traumatic experience.
Help Your Family After Your Child’s Head Injury at a Texas Daycare Center
If your child sustained a head or brain injury because caregivers failed to supervise your child or follow Texas daycare safety laws, contact our experienced daycare injury attorneys at The Button Law Firm. With attorneys in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, we are ready to listen, fight for justice, 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 us at [email protected], or fill out a contact form for a free case evaluation.
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