For most people, Sept. 14 is just another day. For a family in Humble, Texas, it will forever be the day their 4-year-old son experienced a psychologically traumatic incident caused by a daycare center’s negligence.
In September 2023, a mother dropped her little boy off at his daycare center, a place she trusted would properly take care of him. However, when the boy’s father returned to pick him up, daycare workers could not find him. Fearing for his son’s safety, the dad frantically searched the daycare center property, ultimately finding him scared, alone, and covered in wet clothes in a locked dark bathroom. The little boy had been shouting for help, but distracted caregivers did not hear him.
Like many families in Texas, this one expected the daycare center they paid would keep their son safe. Instead, the caregivers failed to abide by Texas daycare laws, known as minimum standards, and left the 4-year-old scared and alone for an extended period of time. If it weren’t for the father intervening, who knows how much longer the boy would have stayed locked in the bathroom before being found. This Humble daycare center failed to properly supervise the children in their care, and a young boy suffered because of it.
The little boy’s parents contacted our daycare and child injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm to hold the Humble daycare center accountable for the negligence that caused the young child to be abandoned in his classroom’s bathroom. Our legal team got justice by securing a settlement that helped the boy and his family recover in a healthy way from the trauma of this incident.
How Did the Humble, Texas, Daycare Center Fail This Boy and His Family?
Our experienced team knows that when daycare centers fail to follow minimum standards, they are being negligent. When this Humble daycare center left a child under its supervision alone in a locked bathroom, it was being negligent. Our team identified that by leaving the child alone in a dark, locked bathroom in wet clothing, the center had violated the following minimum standards:
1. Daycare centers must supervise children at all times.
2. Daycare centers must not place a child in a locked room, bathroom, or closet.
3. Daycare centers must ensure caregivers know which children they are responsible for.
4. Daycare centers must ensure caregivers know and comply with minimum standards.
5. Daycare centers must ensure no child is neglected in care.
The Department of Family and Protective Services was able to conduct a formal review of this Humble daycare center. The state found the daycare center was in violation of two main laws: The caregivers failed to ensure that no children in their care were being abused, neglected, or exploited, and they did not maintain proper visual and aural supervision of the children in order to keep them safe.
This was not an isolated incident. This Humble daycare center had previously violated similar minimum standards. In August 2022 and March 2023, the state of Texas cited the center with failing to properly supervise children, and also in August 2022, cited a caregiver for failing to know which group of children was their responsibility. This daycare center had a known track record of failing to supervise the children in its care, and this case is another instance of that.
How Did The Button Law Firm Help This Young Boy’s Family Seek Justice?
No child should go to their daycare center and leave suffering. Our team of experienced daycare injury lawyers helped this boy’s family hold the daycare center in Humble accountable for its failures, but the consequences of this incident do not automatically disappear. Through financial and emotional support, taking legal action helped this family recover from the effects of such a traumatic event at the daycare center. For this family, the 4-year-old boy required a psychological diagnosis and further treatment for anxiety.
This sweet 4-year-old boy from Humble, Texas, suffered psychological and developmental trauma because of the terrible incident that occurred at his daycare center. Since the incident happened, this young boy has developmentally regressed in a few ways. To avoid restrooms, he would frequently hold his need to go to the bathroom until he soiled himself. He also began refusing to be alone at night, suffered night terrors, prevented doors from being shut in fear that they would lock, and immediately requested to change if his clothes became wet from sweat. There was also a change in his behavior around trusted adults. He appeared clingy around his parents, but would try to hide and become timid around other adults.
After a terrible incident at the daycare center, this family was left to pick up the pieces. Our team understands the unique difficulties in preparing and going through with a child injury case. Their son will ultimately continue to experience challenges related to the incident. However, our firm was able to secure the family with financial compensation for the damages the little boy suffered, and since then they have been able to help him begin to recover in a positive way.
Was Your Child Harmed Due to Daycare Negligence in Texas? Contact The Button Law Firm.
If your child was physically or emotionally harmed because a daycare center did not comply with Texas childcare laws, contact our experienced daycare and child injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. With lawyers in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, 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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