Law Firm Secures Win for Family After Young Daughter Goes Missing at Daycare

What Happened to This Child at This Georgia Daycare?

After a daycare worker inappropriately disciplined a young girl and then didn’t notice she wandered off outside of the childcare facility, a Georgia family contacted our experienced daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm to get justice. Our legal team fought to hold the daycare accountable for the worker’s actions that endangered the little girl’s life. Thanks to a settlement secured by our attorneys, the family was able to provide resources needed to help their daughter heal and move forward. 

How Was the Little Girl Hurt at Daycare?

In fall 2021, a young girl was inappropriately disciplined by a worker at the daycare she attended, with the worker physically contacting her. The young child then wandered out the front door of the daycare facility alone, where she remained missing for approximately one hour before anyone at the daycare center noticed she was gone.

This horrifying incident could have had a completely different ending for the little girl, such as her being kidnapped or suffering a fatal injury. Luckily, a group of good Samaritans found her wandering alone on a busy street and were able to load her into their vehicle and drive her home. As you can imagine, the little girl’s mother was shocked when a group of strangers showed up at her home with the child, who was supposed to be safe at daycare.

To make matters worse in this situation, the daycare did not notify the young child’s mother that her daughter was missing, nor did caregivers call law enforcement to report the girl was gone. The daycare’s response to this incident of neglect was unacceptable on every level.

It is understandable that the little girl was very traumatized by the incident at her daycare. Because of her experiences, she developed night terrors that prevented her from sleeping and became triggered by closed doors. She even developed a speech impediment since the date of the incident. Additional behavioral changes included outbursts that led to the family missing birthday celebrations and funerals for family members.

How Could the Daycare Have Prevented This Incident of Neglect? 

Daycare centers are required to follow strict minimum care guidelines established by Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) to protect the children under their care. This incident was 100% preventable. In this case, the little girl’s daycare failed to follow many daycare laws and basic safety protocols, including:

• Having a director or manager on the premises
• Training and supervising employees on proper discipline methods
• Not implementing forms of physical punishment on children
• Providing adequate supervision and watchful oversight of the children at the daycare center
• Performing frequent name-to-face counts of children in classrooms
• Ensuring the daycare facility is secure so that children cannot wander out of the premises unnoticed
• Immediately alerting law enforcement when a child goes missing

It was later discovered that the daycare center had been cited nearly 21 times by the state for related violations, including operating over the licensed capacity, exceeding child ratios, leaving children unsupervised, and caregivers failing to complete health and safety trainings.

To prevent families from experiencing neglect incidents like what happened in this case, download our free guide to help working parents like you find a safe daycare for your child.

How The Button Law Firm Can Help Your Family with a Daycare Neglect or Injury Case

If your child was seriously neglected or harmed at daycare, school, or camp, contact our compassionate and experienced daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. Our firm is focused on cases involving children, like this case where a little girl was neglected because of the daycare center breaking several safety standards. Our attorneys will listen to you and your child to assess the situation and determine where a daycare, school, or camp failed to protect your child in its care. 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 or fill out a contact form below for a free consultation.