BLF Lawyers Hold Allen Daycare Center Accountable for Missing Toddler

A terrifying incident at a daycare center in Allen, Texas, endangered the life of a toddler. In March 2023, the young boy was able to leave the center without anyone noticing, including his assigned caregivers.

The toddler was able to wander into a parking lot near a bustling six-lane road. Fortunately, a good Samaritan noticed the child and rescued him. She took him to a nearby childcare facility, but it was not the daycare center where the boy was enrolled. Workers at the facility then contacted local police. An officer arrived and began investigating by going to the daycare center, which turned out to be the correct one; however, when asked by the officer if any children were missing, the director at the Allen Center said they were not missing any children. The officer took the director to the facility where the toddler was waiting, and it was then that the director realized the daycare center had a child leave on his own without anyone noticing.

Once the toddler’s mother learned about what happened to her son at the Allen daycare center, she contacted our experienced North Texas daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. Our legal team held the daycare center accountable for its safety failures that endangered the toddler’s life by securing a life-changing settlement that helped the family move forward.

How Was the Toddler Able to Wander Away from the Daycare Center in Allen?

In this shocking daycare wandering case, local police determined the toddler fit through a large opening in the daycare center’s playground fence, which only had unsecure objects like cardboard and a plastic children’s table in front of it. Essentially, the toddler was able to leave the Allen daycare center because staff disregarded basic safety practices and broke several Texas childcare laws, also known as minimum standards, including:

• Caregivers not closely supervising the toddler, because he was able to leave unnoticed. (The daycare center did not know when the toddler got out or how long he had been wandering.)
• The center failing to inspect play spaces and equipment and ensure there are no hazards before children are present.
• Leaving children in the hands of unqualified and untrained caregivers.
• Neglecting to immediately repair a noticeable gap in the fence, instead of choosing to put structures in front of it, which allowed it to remain open to curious children.

What’s even more worrisome is that the daycare center did not even know what time the toddler got out or how long he had been wandering.

An independent investigation into the incident conducted by Texas Health and Human Services cited the daycare center in Allen for:

• Caregivers not having close visual or auditory awareness of the toddler.
• Neglecting the toddler
• Not conducting daily inspections of the play space.

Unfortunately, the toddler's wandering incident was not the first time the daycare center in Allen had ignored the minimum standards and endangered a child. The center had been cited 15 times for previous violations, including the same issues that caused the toddler’s wandering incident: a lack of supervision, premises safety, and caregiver training issues.

Just a month after the toddler’s wandering incident, the daycare center in Allen received seven additional citations for the same safety failures. The daycare center had a pattern of negligent operations.

How Did The Button Law Firm Hold the Allen Daycare Center Accountable for Endangering the Toddler?

The consequences of this daycare wandering incident went far beyond the day it happened. The toddler suffered severe emotional and psychological trauma. Being alone, lost, and rescued by a stranger caused him to be confused and suffer extreme anxiety and distress, effects that no toddler should ever have to process. After the incident, he developed separation anxiety, clinging to his mother for comfort and protection.

It's been a couple of years since the incident, and at his new daycare center, the toddler remains distrustful and acts out with aggression, biting or hitting other children.

In addition, the toddler’s mother experienced her own emotional toll, battling intense guilt, fear, and the overwhelming pain of imagining what could have happened to her son. (He could have been hit by a car or abducted by a stranger without anyone at the Allen daycare center knowing.)

In legal terms, these are called noneconomic damages, and they are significant. Children who experience traumatic events like this early in life can develop long-term psychological effects, including anxiety, separation issues, and sleep disturbances. Parents, too, may face mental health challenges when their child’s safety has been threatened.

Our experienced and compassionate daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm knew the Allen daycare center needed to be held accountable for its negligence that emotionally harmed the toddler and his mother. With legal action, we secured justice for the family that provided financial support for the toddler’s therapy and sent a strong message to the Allen daycare center: Parents will not tolerate disregarding safety practices that endanger their children.

Was Your Child Able to Wander Away from a Daycare Center? Contact The Button Law Firm.

If your child was able to wander away unnoticed from a daycare center that did not comply with Texas childcare safety laws, contact our experienced daycare 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.