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Nothing stops your heart faster than realizing your child is hurt, especially when the injury occurred at a Southlake daycare, a place you trusted to keep your child safe. Maybe your child is holding their elbow closely to their body or won’t stop crying out in pain. And when the daycare center’s explanation doesn’t add up, or if there’s no explanation at all, that may signal something more serious may be going on at the center.What Types of Elbow Injuries Can Happen to My Child at a Southlake Daycare Center?
Our daycare injury lawyers have helped families in Southlake with injury cases for more than a decade. We have seen young children frequently suffer these elbow injuries at local daycare centers:
- Elbow Fractures
Elbow fractures happen when the bones around your child’s elbow joint break, often from a fall onto an outstretched hand. When Southlake daycare centers fail to comply with childcare laws, also known as the minimum standards, a slip can quickly turn into a traumatic and completely preventable broken bone injury.
- Nursemaid’s Elbow
Pulled elbow injuries, also known as nursemaid’s elbow, occur when a child’s elbow joint slips out of place after their arm is pulled or yanked. Because children's bones and ligaments are fragile and still developing, it takes very little force for this painful dislocation to occur. In fact, 1 in 5 upper-arm injuries in kids are nursemaids elbow injuries, according to Cleveland Clinic.
If your child has experienced any type of elbow injury, it’s important to seek medical attention right away. Injuries like nursemaid’s elbow need to be treated by a medical professional to put the joint back into place. Act quickly by taking your child to a local emergency room, such as Cook Children's Southlake.
How Can I Recognize if My Child’s Elbow Injury is Serious?
Across all ages, nursemaid’s elbow does not cause swelling or bruising, but elbow fractures can. Because these injuries are serious and sometimes hard to detect, recognizing these symptoms early can help your child get the proper medical care they need.
Here are some tips to spot the signs of a serious elbow injury based on your child’s age:
- Infants (0-11 months): Because infants cannot speak, it’s important to closely monitor changes in their behavior. You may notice your baby cries when you touch their arm, try to dress them, or put them in their car seat. You might also observe that they favor one side, let one arm hang limply, or scream when they roll onto that side.
- Toddlers (1-3 years): Toddlers are the most likely age group to experience a serious elbow injury like nursemaid’s elbow. A common sign that your toddler’s elbow is injured is if they hold their arm tightly against their stomach or side (their arm might be slightly bent). It’s also normal for toddlers with serious elbow injuries to refuse to move their arm or let anyone touch it.
- Young children (4 years and older): At this age, most children can tell you that their arm hurts and complain about their pain level. Your child may tell what hurts and where, refuse to use their arm, or have a meltdown.
How Do Elbow Injuries Happen at Southlake Daycare Centers?
Often, serious elbow injuries are caused by noncompliance with the minimum standards, such as the rough handling of a child or a lack of supervision by caregivers and daycare directors trusted to watch them.
Nursemaid’s elbow and fracture injuries happen at negligent daycare centers in Southlake most often due to:
- Daycare directors not supervising caregivers throughout the day to ensure they are complying with the minimum standards.
- Inappropriate discipline tactics used by untrained caregivers. This includes forcefully grabbing or yanking a child by a single arm.
- Not properly supervising children when playing on the playground, where falls are most likely to happen.
- Physical abuse at the hands of an unqualified caregiver.
- Unqualified caregivers improperly lifting infants and toddlers from highchairs or changing tables.
When daycare centers in Southlake follow the minimum standards, which address things like proper child-to-caregiver ratios, completing background checks on qualified caregivers, and providing caregivers with ongoing training, serious nursemaid’s elbow and fracture injuries can easily be prevented.
How Can The Button Law Firm Help My Family After My Child’s Elbow Injury at a Southlake Daycare Center?
If your child suffered a serious elbow injury at a daycare center in Southlake, we are here to help. Our team of experienced and compassionate daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm is dedicated to advocating for you and your family and can answer any questions you have about your child’s elbow injury or your legal options. Call us at 214-699-4409, email us at intake@buttonlawfirm.com, or fill out a contact form for a free case evaluation.
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