What Happens If My Child’s Finger Is Amputated at Daycare?

How Do Finger Amputations Happen at Texas Daycare Centers?

Finger amputations at daycare centers most often affect a child’s fingertip, but can happen anywhere along the finger. Heavy classroom doors and inattentive caregivers are the leading causes of these serious injuries. Texas childcare laws, known as the minimum standards, require caregivers to ensure children are clear of doorways before closing doors.

Other ways that finger amputations happen at daycare centers in Texas include:

Dangerous tools such as scissors not stored out of a child’s reach.

Heavy furniture tipping over when not properly anchored to the wall. Bookcases, dressers, and even televisions can fall on a child’s hand or fingers.

Poorly maintained playground equipment that has sharp or rusted edges.

Unsafe or misused toys and devices used against a manufacturer’s instructions or not age-appropriate for a child can lead to serious injuries.

What Should I Do If My Child’s Finger Is Amputated at a Daycare Center?

When your child suffers a severe daycare finger injury, be it a crushed or severed finger, that leads to an amputation, follow these key steps:

Seek emergency medical care by calling 911 or going to a local emergency room. The daycare center should seek medical attention for your child right away, but this does not always happen. If that is the case, take your child to a local children’s hospital such as Children’s Health, Cook Children’s Medical Center, Dell Children’s Medical Center, South Texas Health System, or Texas Children’s Hospital. There, your child’s hand and fingers can be evaluated and treated. (Reattachment may be possible depending on the injury and timing. Click here for tips on ways you can save any amputated parts of your child’s finger.)
Document as much as possible by taking pictures of your child’s severely injured finger and saving copies of your child’s medical records. You can also record a conversation with your child about their experience at the daycare center and how their finger injury happened. Use these tips from our experienced legal team on having an age-appropriate conversation with your child about their daycare injury. Also, be sure to keep any emails or text messages from the daycare center discussing your child’s injury. If the center has surveillance cameras, ask to view the footage and record it with your smartphone if the daycare center deletes or overwrites the video.
Request a copy of the incident report from the daycare center. The minimum standards require daycare centers to provide parents with the report that details how your child injured their finger, which caregiver was responsible for them, and any treatment the child received for their injury. Be sure to save it as part of your evidence.
File a Report with the State. Daycare centers are also required by law to report any incident that harms or endangers a child, including an amputated or severely injured finger, but this does not always happen. Your report can trigger a state investigation into potential minimum standard violations that caused your child’s finger injury.
Contact the Experienced Daycare Injury Lawyers at The Button Law Firm. You have the legal right to hold your child’s daycare center accountable for your child’s amputated finger. When caregivers do not comply with the minimum standards, it is called a breach of duty. (You paid the center to keep your child safe, and your child was harmed.) Therefore, your family may be entitled to recover damages for your child’s finger injury.

Our compassionate and knowledgeable team can guide you through potential legal options, such as filing a daycare injury lawsuit, and help you determine the best path to help your family move forward.

Working with our team can also help preserve evidence such as videos and other records. We also deal directly with insurance companies so that you can focus on helping your child heal.

There is a two-year time limit, so contact us for a free case evaluation by calling 214-699-4409 or emailing intake@buttonlawfirm.com.

Can I Still Take Legal Action for My Child’s Daycare Finger Amputation?

Often, yes. A waiver does not excuse a daycare center from following the minimum standards. If negligence led to your child’s injury, your family may be able to pursue damages for medical care, future treatment, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and other losses.

More Free Resources for Parents After an Amputation Injury

Our team of experienced daycare injury lawyers has more free resources to help you navigate a child’s finger amputation injury at a daycare center:

Did Your Child Lose Their Finger at a Texas Daycare Center? Contact The Button Law Firm.

If your child suffered an injury at a daycare center that caused them to have a finger severely injured or amputated, contact our experienced Texas daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. With lawyers 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.

Schedule a Free Case Evaluation with a Texas Daycare Abuse Attorney Today

If you or someone you know has a child who was harmed by their daycare teacher, contact our firm. We know how difficult getting through this can be. Our experienced team wants to help guide you – as we have helped guide many parents and families within Midland, Houston, Dallas, and the surrounding areas.

You can give us a call at (214) 699-4409 or email us at intake@buttonlawfirm.com. You can also reach out to us by filling out the form below or by starting a chat with a member of our team.