What Should I Do If My Child Gets Injured at a Daycare Center in Southlake?

2. Report the Incident to the State

It is a common misconception that a daycare center in Southlake will comply with Texas childcare laws, also known as the minimum standards, and handle all the necessary reporting after an incident that harms or endangers a child at the center. Unfortunately, reality dictates otherwise.

Daycare centers are businesses, and negligent facilities often prioritize protecting their reputations and licenses over telling the whole truth. We have seen daycare centers cover up incidents firsthand when caregivers are afraid of getting in trouble, losing their jobs, or attracting state scrutiny. They may downplay the severity of the injury, omit crucial details, or skip reporting the incident altogether. (Watch this video to learn more about common ways local daycare centers cover up abuse and neglect incidents.)

By reporting the incident to the state yourself, you bypass the daycare’s narrative, create an independent official record, and trigger a mandatory investigation by state authorities to help prevent any other children in your community from being put at risk. Learn where you should self-report daycare injuries in this article.

3. Contact the Southlake Police Department

Accidents happen, but nearly all daycare injuries are easily preventable when centers operate in compliance with the minimum standards. If you have any reason to suspect that your child’s injury was the result of physical abuse, sexual abuse, or any other intentional harm caused by a caregiver or another adult at the center, you need to contact the Southlake Police Department immediately at 817-748-8114.

The state will investigate daycare licensing and safety violations, but the police will investigate criminal acts. Involving SPD when criminal conduct is suspected ensures that a criminal investigation can be opened, formal police reports are filed, and dangerous caregivers are legally prevented from harming another child.

4. Collect as Much Evidence as Possible

Evidence can quickly disappear after an incident at a daycare center in Southlake. The daycare director can delete surveillance footage, staff members can align their stories, and physical bruises can fade. Even if taking legal action isn’t on your mind, gathering evidence as soon as possible after your child’s injury helps strengthen a future lawsuit to hold the Southlake daycare center and its caregivers accountable for negligence.

Gather the following items as quickly as possible:

• Photographs: Take clear, well-lit photos of your child’s injuries from multiple angles, as well as photos of the clothing they were wearing that day.
• The Incident Report: The minimum standards require daycare centers to provide parents with a copy of an incident report within 48 hours. Ask for your copy if your child’s daycare center does not give this to you.
• All Communications with the Center and Caregivers: Screenshot all text messages or messages in the daycare center’s app, save all emails, and keep detailed notes of any phone calls or in-person conversations you have with the daycare director and/or caregivers.
• Surveillance Footage: If the Southlake daycare center has cameras, submit a written request to the center asking them to preserve and provide any security camera footage from the day of the incident.

We also recommend speaking to your child to get their account of what happened. You can easily record the conversation with your smartphone. Sit down with them in a safe, comfortable space and use open-ended questions that our team of daycare injury lawyers outlined in this article. Even young children can provide incredible insight into what really happened to them at the daycare center.

5. Contact Our Experienced Daycare Injury Lawyers at The Button Law Firm

You might be thinking, "I just want my child to heal; I'm not even sure if I want to file a lawsuit yet." That is completely understandable.

However, contacting an experienced daycare injury lawyer like our team at The Button Law Firm is about getting answers and protecting your family, not just litigation.

With more than a decade of helping North Texas families after daycare incidents, our team knows exactly how negligent daycare centers try to hide their tracks. When you hire a daycare injury lawyer, we can send a demand that forces a Southlake daycare center to preserve all evidence, including video footage and employee records, before anything accidentally gets deleted or the memories of caregivers fade.

We will help you navigate the complex legal process, deal with the daycare center’s insurance company, and give you the space to focus on helping your child recover.

Your child’s safety is worth fighting for, and you do not have to walk this overwhelming path alone. Contact us for a free case evaluation by calling 214-699-4409 or emailing us at intake@buttonlawfirm.com. We work on contingency, meaning we don’t charge you or collect any upfront fees to speak with you or get started on your case.