Daycare Injury Cover-Ups in Texas and What to Do After Your Child's Injury is Ignored

What Should You Expect After Your Child Suffers an Injury at a Texas Daycare?

If your child sustains an injury at daycare, it's natural to have many questions. What you rightfully expect from the daycare facility are honest answers regarding what transpired and how such an incident could have been prevented. Parents deserve nothing less than the truth about what happened to their child.

It's normal to expect the daycare facility to be forthright, transparent, and committed to learning from any missteps to prevent similar occurrences in the future. When a daycare facility takes responsibility for any lapses in care and works to correct them, it fosters trust and confidence in its operations.

However, there are often instances where facilities prioritize profit over safety, potentially jeopardizing the well-being of the children under their supervision.

The Button Law Firm Has Witnessed Countless Texas Daycare Cover-Ups 

Unfortunately, our daycare injury attorneys have witnessed Texas daycares try to cover up their negligence by altering their description of how an incident or injury occurred. 

One example of a cover-up we've witnessed happened in a case we handled where a child was left in a hot van at daycare. A Texas daycare facility had taken the kids on a summer field trip in their van. When they returned to the facility, they opened the doors and let the kids run in. However, they did not have an adequate counting or supervision system to ensure that kids were not missing or specifically left in the van.

Vehicles must be checked thoroughly as children sometimes hide or are left in the very back of the vehicle. Children should then be counted, and a roll call should be made by staff. Kids are forgotten when this is not done, and potentially dangerous things can happen. 

When the father of this child arrived for pickup, the daycare facility neglected to tell the dad that they could not find his child in the classroom she was supposed to be in. Two teachers ran past the father and to the van. They found the child in the van in the summer sun with the windows up. It was 96 degrees outside; imagine how hot it was in the van.

The 4-year-old had been left in the van for 30 minutes, which could have easily caused fatal injuries. The teachers pulled her out, and instead of taking her in the front door, they took her around the back of the daycare, through the playground, and brought her in a back door. They cleaned her face and put her back outside on the playground alone. The dad searched for his daughter and found her outside on the playground, crying alone and unsupervised.

The teachers acted like nothing had happened until the daughter told the dad they had left her in the van. The caregivers then lied and said it was only five minutes, and the child had left to get her backpack. The child's father called The Button Law Firm for help, and our daycare injury attorneys obtained the daycare video footage to expose the truth behind the situation. 

Other Ways Daycares in Texas Cover Up Negligence and Child Abuse

There are many ways daycares in Texas can attempt to cover up an incident or injury when negligence or abuse occurred. Here are a few of the most common ways we've seen daycares try to avoid taking responsibility for an incident:

• The daycare chooses not to complete an incident report
• The daycare chooses not to report incidents to the state
• The daycare chooses to leave parents in the dark after an injury
• The daycare chooses to overlook the inappropriate actions of a caregiver
• The daycare tries to divert the blame onto other children or parents
• The daycare tries to manipulate the facts of a situation to downplay the injuries

The Button Law Firm has handled cases where the daycare facility does not tell the parents something happened to their child because the daycare teacher and management deemed it a non-serious injury. Thus, there was no report, a video was not preserved, and the parents were not notified. Daycare providers are not medical professionals and have zero medical training to identify a serious injury.

Additionally, many serious injuries are not outwardly visible, such as brain injuries, broken bones without broken skin, ligament damage, internal bleeding, and internal damage to organs. Parents have a right to know if their child was injured while at daycare from the caregivers, so they can get them proper medical attention and have peace of mind regarding the safety of their kids. If a parent finds out after the fact or hears about the injury from their child, the injury may have had time to worsen or could be more severe than originally thought. 

If a daycare turns a blind eye to inappropriate actions by a caregiver or attributes injuries to another child, it may indicate a disturbing pattern of sexual abuse or aggressive discipline by staff members. Often, serious incidents are camouflaged by a series of minor occurrences, making it difficult for parents to recognize the underlying danger.

Parents may notice minor bruises or red marks but dismiss them as typical childhood mishaps, especially when teachers dismiss them as normal behavior. However, when a pattern of abusive conduct emerges, daycare facilities often claim ignorance.

Regrettably, daycare centers frequently overlook these warning signs. It takes vigilant parents and daycare injury attorneys to advocate for the child's safety and hold daycare facilities accountable for their actions to prevent further harm to children.

What Do I Do if Caregiver Negligence Resulted in My Child Being Injured at Daycare?

Report the incident to the proper authorities, who will investigate the daycare facility. In a specific case our team handled, the facility initially claimed to have video issues, only to miraculously produce footage once we intervened. Subsequently, we've observed instances where documents have mysteriously disappeared or were never completed in the first place.

To prevent daycare facilities from attempting to conceal their mismanagement, holding them accountable is imperative. While many daycare centers prioritize safety and compliance, there are, unfortunately, some that prioritize their interests over the well-being of children. Addressing these outliers is essential to ensure the safety and integrity of daycare facilities across Texas.

If your child has suffered an injury while at daycare and you don't know where to start, download our FREE guide, 5 Steps to Take After a Daycare Injury. 

What Can The Button Law Firm Do to Help with Your Daycare Injury?

If your child has suffered an injury at daycare and you feel frustrated with the answers you're getting regarding the situation, we understand, and we're here to help. Every parent has the right to know the truth about any incidents involving their children and the information they need to move forward. 

Our team of experienced and compassionate daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm is dedicated to advocating for you and your family if your child was seriously injured while in the care of a Texas daycare facility. Our daycare injury attorneys are recognized on the prestigious Texas Super Lawyers list, and we can help you move forward 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 [email protected], or fill out a contact form and tell us your story.