Are Cases Where Children Are Left in Hot Vans Preventable? Car seat for child in a daycare van

Yes. This can be prevented 100% of the time. 

What Should We Expect Texas Daycare Centers to Do?

At a minimum, our Texas daycare injury attorney and our legal team expect daycare centers to have the following:

Why are Kids Being Left in Vans While Attending Daycare?

Unfortunately, we have seen a trend of kids being left on vans at daycare centers throughout Texas. This is happening for a few different reasons, but the main reason is that there is no system in place to track the kids and ensure the van is locked and cleared to prevent re-entry into the van.

Here are a few of the reasons we are seeing kids being left on the vans:

  • No system for checking as the kids are walking off the van and into the building. Then, no system for checking kids once entering the room to double-check.
  • No system for checking the van with a second set of eyes.
  • No system for locking the van after it has been checked by a second employee.
  • No system for counting and documenting all kids present on the roster once inside.

Kids should never be left in a van for any amount of time. This is completely preventable. When kids are left in vehicles, they can be seriously harmed in a variety of ways. Everything from heatstroke, PTSD, anxiety attacks, separation anxiety, abandonment fears, internal organ damage, and death.

What Can Be Done About Daycare Centers Leaving Children in Vans?

Report to the police and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services that your child was left in a van, even if you don’t know how long, so it gets investigated by the state. This allows the state of Texas investigation group that regulates daycare centers to get involved. We need this so that these events are documented. If you need to learn more about how to make an incident report, read our article, Lessons Learned About Making Incident Reports At A Texas Daycare Center.

What Can the Button Law Firm Do to Help?

Anytime we take on a case, we immediately make sure the State of Texas is been involved as well. We send a letter to preserve all videotape and documentation evidence to the daycare center. This allows us to eventually get our hands on that evidence before anything can be destroyed or tampered with. We also make sure to get statements from as many people as we can about the event and prior notice.

Request a Free Consultation

Russell Button
Connect with me
Dallas, Houston, and Midland Texas trial and personal injury lawyer dedicated to securing justice for clients.