BLF Holds Central Texas Daycare Center for Failing Toddler and His Family Twice

In August 2024, a 2-year-old boy was locked outside on the playground at his daycare center in Central Texas. No one at the daycare center noticed the boy did not return to his classroom after recess. Instead, he was left alone, screaming for help in the summer heat for nearly 40 minutes.

Surveillance footage at the daycare center captured the toddler desperate to open the playground’s gate. He finally succeeded in opening the gate and left the daycare center’s property, which was located on the corner of a strip center near a busy multi-lane highway with several hazards, including dumpsters, drainage ditches, and electrical boxes.

Two good Samaritans working at an adjacent business heard the toddler crying and found him with a red face and drenched in sweat. They took him back to their place of work to help him cool off. Then, they carried him back to the neighboring daycare center, where the front desk employee was shocked to realize the toddler had been missing.

Once the boy’s mother arrived at the daycare center and sought medical attention for her son, she contacted our experienced Texas daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. Our legal team fought to make the Central Texas daycare center answer for its many safety failures that led to the boy being neglected. We secured a life-changing result for the toddler and his mother to help the toddler heal and move forward.

How Did the Central Texas Daycare Center Break Texas Childcare Laws?

Texas childcare laws, also known as the minimum standards, regulate all aspects of a daycare’s operations with the aim to keep children safe and prevent neglect incidents.

First, caregivers are required to know which children they are responsible for and maintain auditory and visual proximity to each child throughout the day. To ensure this happens, daycare centers should maintain mandated child-to-caregiver ratios in each classroom so that caregivers can closely keep up with and supervise each child in their care. In this case, the toddler’s caregivers never noticed he was missing, even after they prepared lunches for the class of 2-year-olds and had an extra meal.

Second, caregivers should conduct face-to-name checks before and after transitions such as the toddler’s class moving from the classroom to the playground and back to the classroom. This extra step helps caregivers account for all children under their watch and quickly determine if a child is missing.

In addition, it is no secret that a class of 2-year-old children can easily get distracted. That’s why caregivers should also conduct a proper sweep of the playground, checking all play structures and hidden areas for little ones before leading the children inside the daycare center. In this case, the toddler was still playing inside a playhouse on the playground when his teacher took his classmates back to their classroom.

Daycare centers are also required to maintain a safe and secure environment. This daycare center in Central Texas failed at every turn. The toddler was able to open the gate to the playground without any assistance from an adult. Then, when the good Samaritans brought the little boy back to the daycare center, the front door was unlocked. The two adults were able to walk right inside the center.

Sadly, this daycare neglect incident was not the only time the Central Texas daycare center failed the toddler and his family. While the toddler’s mother was searching for a safe daycare center for her son after he was left outside, he suffered a head laceration when another unsupervised child at the center was able to hit him in the head with a rock.

The Central Texas daycare center could have easily prevented these two incidents by following the minimum standards and spared the toddler from experiencing traumatic events.

An independent state investigation revealed that the Central Texas daycare center violated two minimum standards. By not closely supervising the children, caregivers did not realize a toddler was missing for 40 minutes—a direct failure to ensure no child is neglected.

How Did the Toddler Suffer Because of the Central Texas Daycare Center’s Failures?

Following the initial incident in August 2025, the toddler was seen and treated by his pediatrician for his prolonged exposure to the summer heat. The second incident that left him with a head laceration caused him to be treated in a local emergency room. There, doctors directed the toddler’s mother to manage her son’s injury with wound care and at-home monitoring.

Both incidents were highly stressful for the 2-year-old boy. He developed severe separation anxiety, became clingy to his mother, and even experienced behavior regressions. For example, when his mother goes to the bathroom to take a shower, the little boy immediately cries.

He also experienced traumatic nightmares and night terrors, waking up in the middle of the night and crying out for his mother. He then requests that she cradle and rock him like a baby, even though he had outgrown that behavior.

How Did The Button Law Firm Hold the Daycare Center in This Case Accountable?

Our experienced and compassionate lawyers at The Button Law Firm saw firsthand how the multiple safety failures at the Central Texas daycare center negatively impacted the toddler’s well-being and even disrupted his family’s daily routine.

We held the center accountable and worked to secure a life-changing result that compensated the toddler’s family for his medical bills and ongoing treatment plan to help him process the events at the daycare center in a healthy way. With our help, the toddler and his family were able to move forward.

The Button Law Firm Can Help Your Family After a Daycare Injury

Let our team of daycare injury lawyers advocate for your family after a daycare injury anywhere in Texas. 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.