Helping Parents: 5 Key Things to Know About Suing a Daycare Center Responsible for Your Child’s Injury

Learning that your child suffered a serious injury or was endangered while in the care of a Texas daycare center can be scary and infuriating. Unfortunately, these situations are more common than anyone would like to imagine — 678 children ages four and under were victims of serious injuries and fatalities in licensed Texas daycare centers in one year, according to a March 2023 Texas child safety report.

If your child has experienced a horrible situation like the children in the report, it may be confusing to know what to do after they receive medical treatment for their injuries. The most common next step is to hire an attorney and sue the daycare center.

Our Texas daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm help explain five important things to know about suing a local daycare center.

1. Common Daycare Injuries You Can Sue For

While the statistic we shared earlier in this article is shocking, the good news is that a vast majority of daycare injuries can be easily prevented. The state of Texas has an extensive list of child safety regulations, known as minimum standards, that daycare centers are expected to follow to keep children safe. Thus, daycare centers can be sued when they fail to comply with the state’s standards.

For example, a lack of supervision is the root cause of most daycare injuries and incidents. That is why the minimum standards emphasize the importance of supervision guidelines for child-to-caregiver ratios, classroom monitoring, and the proper management of caregivers at daycare facilities. When children are not closely watched at a daycare center, they can be seriously hurt.

Common daycare injuries that are preventable but occur when there is a lack of supervision and noncompliance with safety standards include:

• Allergic Reactions: Children experience allergic reactions when caregivers neglect to intervene or keep known allergens out of reach
• Broken Bones or Cuts: Instances of furniture tipping over on a child due to heavy pieces not being properly anchored to a classroom wall
• Choking: If toys are not age-appropriate and come with small pieces and parts that children can put in their mouth. This can also occur when children are given food that is not age-appropriate.
• Cuts and Scrapes: If a child plays with broken equipment or has access to an age-inappropriate playground or playscape at the daycare center
• Drowning: If children have access to a pool or a body of water near the daycare facility
• Drug Overdose: When children have access to illegal drugs that look like candy brought in by unqualified caregivers
• Falls: From a high surface such as a changing table, playground equipment, or a high chair
• Finger Cuts or Crushes: A child can severely slice or crush his or her little fingers in door hinges
• Heatstroke or Hypothermia: Experienced when a child is locked out of a daycare center on an extremely hot or cold day
• Physical and Emotional Trauma: Criminal acts like instances of sexual abuse at the daycare center
• Severe Burns: These injuries occur from unattended bottle warmers and when children are left unsupervised around dangling cords
• Wandering Out of the Classroom: When young children are not closely supervised, they can roam around the facility, enter a playground, or leave a daycare’s premises, at risk of getting hit by a car or being kidnapped

If your child experienced injuries in any preventable scenarios like the ones we shared above, you may be able to sue the daycare center.

2. Parents and Guardians Can Sue a Daycare Center After a Child’s Injury 

In Texas, parents and legal guardians have the right to sue a daycare center that does not prioritize the well-being and safety of the children in its care. Suing a daycare center after a child is injured does not mean that parents are litigious or greedy. In our court system, filing a lawsuit is one way to hold a negligent daycare center accountable for its failure to keep your child safe. Taking legal action can also prevent other children from experiencing the same injuries that your child suffered.

A lawsuit must be filed within two years from the day of the incident at the daycare center. However, our legal team recommends that parents contact us and act as soon as possible to help strengthen your case by gathering evidence while it is considered fresh.

It is important to note that even if you were required to sign a waiver to enroll your child at the daycare center, you can still file a lawsuit. Get a free consultation by calling us at 214-699-4409, emailing us at [email protected], or completing a contact form.

3. Damages That Can be Recovered in a Daycare Injury Lawsuit

In a daycare injury lawsuit, the court will hold the wrongful party—the daycare center—accountable by having them pay money to “right the wrong.” The monetary compensation is also known as the damages. Your family may be compensated for economic and non-economic damages in a daycare lawsuit.

Compensation can be awarded for the following:

• Developmental regressions that a child may experience, such as forgetting potty training
• Experiencing severe behavioral issues such as extreme separation anxiety from a parent or not trusting authority figures
• Loss of enjoyment of life, meaning the trauma a child experienced causes them to be scared to participate in activities that they previously enjoyed
• Medical bills for current, ongoing, and future treatments to help your child heal from their injuries sustained at the daycare center
• Mental anguish that can manifest via constant nightmares and disrupted sleep patterns
• Pain and suffering
• Resources such as play therapy sessions to help a child process a traumatic daycare incident in a healthy way

For a more in-depth understanding of damages in a daycare injury case, check out this article written by our legal team.

4. The State Will Conduct an Independent Investigation Following a Daycare Injury

You may be concerned that it’s your word against the daycare center when filing a daycare lawsuit, especially if your child was an infant or young toddler at the time of their daycare injury. Do not worry. Texas daycare centers are required to report all incidents and injuries to the state. You can also reach out to report your child’s injury if you did not receive a copy of the incident report or if you believe that the daycare provided inaccurate information on the incident report that was filed. Simply call the Texas Abuse Hotline at 800-252-5400 or submit a report online at txabusehotline.org. 

This will prompt an independent investigation by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. An investigator will visit the daycare center to gather information and determine what happened and how the center was negligent and caused your child’s injury.   

Often, the findings of these investigations help child injury cases by revealing facts the daycare center may have tried to cover up.

5. Suing a Daycare Center If Your Child Passes Away

First, our hearts go out to you. We cannot fathom what you are going through following the loss of a child. If your little one passed away because of the safety failures and negligence of a daycare center, you could file a wrongful death of a child lawsuit.

Our compassionate and experienced daycare injury lawyers will fight for your family to hold the daycare center and any negligent caregivers accountable to get justice for your child’s untimely death. While it won’t bring your child back, a daycare wrongful death case can help your family move forward and potentially protect other children from experiencing the same fate.  

Download Our Free Daycare Injury Guide

To learn more about what to do after your child has been injured at a Texas daycare center, download our free guide: 5 Steps to Take After a Daycare Injury.

Let The Button Law Firm Fight for Your Family After a Serious Daycare Injury

Do you feel confident that suing a daycare center is the right thing to do for your child and other children?

Our team of experienced and compassionate daycare injury attorneys at The Button Law Firm is dedicated to fighting for you and your family if your child was seriously hurt while in the care of a negligent daycare center. 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. Get a free consultation by calling 214-699-4409, emailing us at [email protected], or completing a contact form.