A 2-year-old boy was victimized by another child at the Frisco, Texas, location of a national luxury gym’s childcare center when negligent caregivers did not comply with Texas childcare laws while children were under their watch. In June 2022, an older child at the center was able to strip the clothes off the toddler and repeatedly hit and punch him in the genitals. The toddler’s 4-year-old brother had to intervene because caregivers ignored the toddler’s loud cries and pleas for help.
Distraught and angry, the toddler’s parents contacted our Texas daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. Our legal team partnered with another local law firm to hold the Frisco gym accountable and get justice for the toddler’s traumatic abuse. Together, our firms secured a settlement to help the child and his family access resources to move forward.
How Did the Luxury Gym’s Childcare Center in Frisco, Texas, Fail a 2-Year-Old Boy?
All daycare centers, including childcare services offered at gyms and fitness centers, are required to comply with Texas laws known as minimum standards. These regulations are in place to create a safe environment and protect children, like the toddler in this case, from harm.
The luxury gym in Frisco was responsible for hiring qualified caregivers and ensuring they completed any training required by the minimum standards. The gym was also responsible for continuously supervising caregivers to confirm they were complying with the minimum standards while caring for children.
However, the Frisco gym did not hire and train qualified caregivers in this case. The caregivers at the Frisco gym acted negligently by not keeping close visual and auditory proximity to all the children. The child-on-child sexual abuse incident took place inside a play structure where a divider obstructed a direct sightline. If the gym’s caregivers had complied with the minimum standards and properly supervised the children, they could have quickly intervened at the first indication of inappropriate behavior and prevented the toddler from being sexually abused. The gym’s caregivers did not even aid when the toddler cried loudly and screamed for help.
Fostering a safe environment at a daycare center, including the luxury gym’s amenity, also extends to transparency and open communication with parents. Despite this, the Frisco gym’s response to the incident was unsettling and broke Texas childcare laws. The toddler’s parents had to report the incident to the local police department because the gym refused to do so. In addition, the facility denied the parents’ request to view the surveillance footage of their son’s sexual abuse incident. It wasn’t until the Frisco Police Department got involved and viewed the gym’s surveillance footage that the toddler’s parents finally learned the details and full scope of what happened to their son.
How Did the Toddler Suffer Because of the Frisco Gym’s Negligence?
Sexual abuse is a horrific crime against a child. The trauma and psychological scars are carried with survivors throughout their lives. As you can imagine, the vulnerable toddler was deeply upset, crying loudly and screaming for help while the abuse was taking place at the Frisco gym. He also suffered physical injuries from being repeatedly hit in the genitals.
The toddler’s parents sought out expensive long-term therapy resources to help him process the abuse and address his newly developed trust issues with adults in a healthy way.
The impacts of the sexual abuse incident at the Frisco gym were also felt by the toddler’s family members, including his big brother, who stopped the abuse when the negligent caregivers failed to notice what was happening or act. Like his little brother, he required therapy sessions to deal with the trauma of witnessing his brother’s abuse. The children’s parents also suffered mental anguish and guilt over what happened to their son while he was in the gym’s childcare center.
Our Texas daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm and partner firm fought to get justice for the toddler and his family. Together, we held the Frisco gym accountable and secured compensation that covered all of the damages the boy and his family suffered from the horrific sexual abuse and subsequent trauma. Thankfully, the toddler was able to access long-term resources to help him process the sexual abuse incident and move forward.
Help Your Child After an Incident at a Gym Childcare Center with The Button Law Firm
If your child was harmed or seriously injured because a gym’s childcare facility neglected to comply with Texas daycare safety laws, contact our experienced daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. With lawyers across the Lone Star State, we are ready to listen, fight for your family, and help your family move forward. Our lawyers at The Button Law Firm are recognized on the prestigious Texas Super Lawyers list, and we can help guide you 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 for a free case evaluation.
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