773-365-0040
A Matter of Trust
Every parent has experienced that feeling of worry when dropping their child off for their first day of preschool or daycare. We are entrusting the well-being of our children to the staff of a facility that is supposed to keep them safe. Most of the time our trust is well-placed. Nevertheless, our children are sometimes injured while at daycare. These injuries usually consist of minor bumps and scrapes, nothing that can’t be attributed to “child’s play.” Unfortunately, sometimes these injuries are serious, life-altering – and preventable.
What to do if Your Child is Injured
The most immediate concern when your child is injured is his or her safety. Getting your child medical attention is a priority, especially in the case of a head injury, where he or she may be suffering from a concussion. Make sure that all the proper diagnostic testing is performed, as symptoms may not be immediately apparent.
Daycare Facility Liability
When you place your child in a daycare facility there are certain safety expectations and regulations. It is the duty of the center to ensure your child’s safety and well-being while they are under the supervision of the daycare employees. There are certain standards that must be met and laws to be followed for every facility. This is done to protect children against harm caused by negligence and abuse.
A daycare facility should always have enough employees to properly supervise the children enrolled at the center. Children should not be left alone or overlooked because of overcrowding. If there is an imbalance in the ratio between children and daycare employees the children may wander off the premises or cause accidental injury to themselves. It is every caretaker’s duty to ensure each child is monitored properly and injuries are prevented.
By law, daycare centers also strictly forbid all kinds of mental, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. If an employee or employees of a facility are causing intentional harm to the children under their care, that employee and center are accountable.
Do I have a Legal Claim?
Once your child has been evaluated and treated by medical professionals, the next step is to determine whether the facility or its staff was at fault. This is the best time to speak with an experienced Naperville personal injury lawyer who understands the law and can help decide if you have a legitimate claim. The basis for a personal injury claim on behalf of your child will involve either “intentional acts” or “negligence,” or both.
Negligence is a party’s failure to act or do something when it should be done or doing something when it shouldn’t have done it. Some common acts of negligence include improperly maintained equipment, inadequate supervision, unsanitary or unsafe conditions, and injury from toxic substances. These are just a few examples of negligent behavior. Your attorney will be able to analyze the circumstances of your child’s injury and the likelihood of success for any claim.
Intentional acts differ from negligence in that they are not unintentional or accidental, but rather caused by willful, intentional, and/or malicious acts by the facility’s employees. These injuries include false imprisonment, sexual assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Again, this is a partial list of intentional wrongdoing. An injury to a child may involve any number of these, or a combination of intentional and negligent acts.
Filing A Lawsuit
In order to file a lawsuit against a daycare center for negligence, one must prove that the daycare center did not do its job in preventing the injury that has been sustained. To do so, you should start by taking your child to a doctor to examine the injury and provide treatment. Be sure to keep all paperwork related to the doctor’s findings as well as all bills related to the treatment. It is essential to prove that the cause of injury was something that could have and would have been prevented in any other daycare facility and that the injury was caused by negligence or inadequate supervision on the part of the caretakers.
Once it is proven that the administrators of the daycare facility failed to do their job by preventing the injury, it should be determined whether or not the child would have sustained the injury despite the daycare’s irresponsibility. This is known as causation. The proximate cause must be addressed next, which means it is mandatory to prove there were no unforeseeable circumstances that caused the child’s injury, despite the daycare center’s actions.
It is only after the daycare facility is proven to be at total fault for the child’s injury that they can be held accountable in a court of law. Determining this is a tasking process requiring experienced lawyers who know what questions to ask and are familiar with the tricks played by insurance companies eager to settle out of court.
Chicago Injury Lawyers at Shea Law Group Are Here For You
If your child has suffered an injury due to negligence at a daycare facility, or outright mistreatment from the facility employees, contact Shea Law Group. Our team of experienced Chicago injury lawyers will fight to get you the compensation you deserve for your family’s pain, suffering, and medical bills. We never charge a fee unless we win your case. Call us now at 1-(773)-365-0040, or visit us online to discuss your options.
