Parents spend a lot of time choosing the right day care facility. It takes a lot to trust someone else with the well-being of your young child.
But sometimes despite even a parent’s best efforts, a day care injury results anyway. Determining whether the injury was the result of negligence and whether it’s compensable will involve weighing a number of factors.
Generally, day care facilities have total and complete control over your child’s activities and have a duty to adequately staff, properly hire and fully supervise what goes on. When they fail to do those things and your child is injured as a result, a day care accident lawsuit may be your only remedy to ensure compensation – and justice.
A recent day care injury case was reported out of Pasco County, Florida, where a father of a 5-year-old was horrified when his son came home covered in facial bruising. As it turned out, the boy also suffered injuries to his abdomen as well.
According to ABC Action News, the father alleges his son’s injuries were the result of bullying by an older child – and it wasn’t the first time he’d asked for his child to be separated from the other youth.
A few days earlier, he said he picked up his son and there was bruising on his face. He walked inside and spoke to the day care workers, who he said “brushed it off” and explained a 10-year-old coaxed his 5-year-old to play “the tripping game,” which involves kids getting tripped. The day care worker reportedly said the kids started “playing rough” and she told them to “calm down.” The father told the day care workers he didn’t want his son around that child anymore.
But the workers allegedly did not separate them, nor did they take much effort to stop “the tripping game,” because his son was reportedly coaxed into playing it again – and this time suffered serious injuries to his face and stomach.
The father railed to local media, wondering aloud at what point day care workers thought it was alright for a 10-year-old to “play rough” with a 5-year-old.
The boy’s father called the incident “negligence.” The boy’s mother said it is a combination of negligence and bullying.
The center later explained in a written statement that during drop-off and pick-up times, older children and younger children play together in the same area under supervision. The center insisted that proper supervision is used at all times at the site and that their practices are in line with state licensing guidelines laid forth by The Department of Children and Families. A spokesperson further stated staffers did not believe bullying was the cause of this incident, but couldn’t elaborate further.
DCF has launched an investigation.
In any negligence action in Florida, plaintiffs need show defendant:
- Owed a duty of care to plaintiff;
- Breached that duty of care;
- That breach of duty resulted in plaintiff’s compensable injuries.
While examination of whether the center’s practices adhered to DCF guidelines will be relevant, it won’t necessarily be the deciding factor in ascertaining whether the center was negligent.
Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Additional Resources:
A 5-year-old boy was allegedly injured by bullies at Paso day care; family files police report, April 12, 2016, By Jacqueline Ingles, ABC Action News
Vicarious Liability in Car Accident When At-Fault Driver is On-the-Job, April 16, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Child Injury Lawyer Blog