Senior Partner
Parents trust daycares to keep their children safe while they are at work and elsewhere. But many daycares fail to live up to this expectation and negligently allow children to be injured. When this happens, you can expect your child to require medical attention and to suffer other related damages. That gives parents the right to demand monetary compensation. If this has happened to your child, let Miller, Montiel, & Strano, P.C. counsel you and your family as we seek justice.
Step 1: Get medical attention for your child, and follow up with the doctor
If your child has an emergency, call 911. Police intervention and emergency medical assistance should be obtained without delay. No matter what, your child needs to receive immediate medical attention. Be sure to also obey all doctor’s orders, follow up with the doctor, and keep all appointments.
Not only is this necessary for your child’s health, it is essential to preserving your right to file a legal claim. If you delay seeking medical attention and your child’s injuries worsen, the at-fault party will attempt to shift blame to you.
Step 2: Understand what you need to prove
Working with your lawyer, you will build a case that demonstrates the daycare was negligent in caring for your child. More specifically, you will need to show the following:
- The daycare owed a duty of care to your child
- By some negligent act or omission, the daycare breached that duty
- This breach caused injury (or death) to your child
- As a result, the child suffered damages that can be compensated
Examples of negligent acts or omissions may include:
- Failure to supervise the child
- Failure to properly train staff
- Failure to remove hazards from the premises that can injure a child
- Unsanitary conditions
- Physical, sexual, or emotional abuse
- Medical abuse (e.g. failure to administer required medications to the child)
Step 3: Begin collecting relevant evidence
The above are only a few examples of the various ways daycares can be negligent. Regardless of what your argument is, the obligation will be on you to prove the daycare breached the duty of care it owed your child. It never hurts to start assembling evidence now. For example, you will want to start collecting the following:
- Information about the daycare facility itself, such as its owners, managers, any parent companies, any health and safety complaints (many of which can be found online), etc.
- The identities of the individuals who were working at the time your child was injured
- Medical records pertaining to your child’s injuries
- Photographs and other evidence of any unsafe conditions at the daycare
- A copy of any police reports you file
- Any witnesses (including other children) who observed what happened to your child
- If age-appropriate, a statement from your own child about what happened
Step 4: Talk an experience personal injury attorney
The sooner you retain legal counsel to help file a claim on your child’s behalf, the better. Your attorney will conduct an investigation separate from that of any law enforcement. The goal will be to gather evidence, determine the strength of your case (as well as any defenses the at-fault party may have), and identify all persons and entities who may be held liable.
Your attorney will also handle negotiations on your and your child’s behalf with any insurance companies. Depending on the circumstances, that may include insurers of the daycare business, of the property owner, and others. If necessary, however, your attorney should be prepared to take your case to court.
Comprehensive Legal Representation For You And Your Child
No parent should have to receive the awful news that their child has been hurt (or worse). You can count on the personal injury attorneys of Miller, Montiel, & Strano, P.C. to represent your and your child’s best interests from day one. We will walk you through the legal process and fight for the maximum compensation to cover your child’s injuries. Call us today.
