In August 2023, caregivers let a 2-year-old boy play unsupervised on a preschool’s playground in Leander, Texas. Because of their negligence, the boy was relentlessly bitten by dozens of ants. The bites, which covered the toddler’s ankles and legs, caused him to experience anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that can be life-threatening.
When local law enforcement arrived, the toddler was unconscious with shallow breathing and foaming at the mouth. Paramedics on the scene determined that the extensive insect bites caused the toddler to experience a febrile seizure due to the anaphylaxis. EMS rushed him to a local emergency room for further evaluation and care.
To make matters worse, workers at the Leander preschool tried to cover up the severity of the traumatic incident by purposefully excluding key details in the incident report. The report simply stated that the toddler “got bit by ants when playing outside.”
The toddler’s parents contacted our Texas daycare and childcare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. We fought to get justice for this young child and his family by holding the Leander preschool accountable for its negligence that caused the toddler to be severely bitten by insects and go into anaphylaxis and the subsequent challenges that he suffered as a result.
How Did the Leander Preschool’s Negligent Actions Hurt the Toddler?
Sadly, the incident was easily preventable if the teachers at the Leander preschool had complied with Texas daycare and childcare laws, also known as minimum standards. These regulations require:
- All staff, caregivers, and teachers know and comply with the minimum standards
- Caregivers are capable of handling emergencies promptly and intelligently
- Children are always supervised
- Hazards are identified and removed from the facility’s building and premises for safety
- Incident reports are completed for all incidents involving a child’s injury
- Teachers and caregivers are competent and use good judgment
- The facility’s buildings and grounds are maintained to protect the health of children
By following the minimum standards, workers and teachers at the Leander Preschool should have proactively assessed the school's grounds, including the playground, to ensure a safe environment. Diligent workers should have noticed the ant colony or hill on the playground and worked with the appropriate team to treat the area and get rid of the ants.
Secondly, the teachers at the Leander preschool should always have auditory and visual proximity to the little ones in their care. In this case, they did not closely watch the toddler or remove him from the situation once the ants began biting him. Instead, dozens of ants bit him without anyone at the Leander preschool noticing until it was too late, and the toddler went into anaphylaxis.
Lastly, all daycare and childcare centers are required to complete an incident report submitted to the state and the parents of the child harmed or injured at a facility. These reports highlight details of the incident, including what happened, how a child was harmed, the cause of the incident, and the teachers and caregivers responsible for the child. However, the Leander preschool continued to act negligently when employees chose to lie by omission in the incident report, opting to exclude key details regarding the severity of the incident and how the toddler was injured.
How Was the Leander Preschool Held Accountable for Damages?
As you can imagine, the toddler experienced extensive health and medical issues from the numerous ant bites on the playground at the Leander preschool. The bites covering his ankles and legs caused him to suffer a febrile seizure due to anaphylaxis, leaving him unconscious and foaming at the mouth. He was rushed via an ambulance to the emergency room at a local children’s hospital, where he was diagnosed with a severe allergic reaction to the insect bites. His recovery required follow-up treatments with his pediatrician, which generated costly medical bills for the family.
Following his medical treatment, the numerous ant bites left multiple scars, permanently disfiguring his ankles and legs and leaving a lasting reminder of the incident at the Leader preschool.
The scary incident at the Leander preschool also left the toddler traumatized. He developed anxiety, which manifested in experiencing nightmares that he was being bitten and eaten by animals. The toddler also developed an aversion to playing on the playground and being outside without wearing socks or shoes because of the ant bites.
Our daycare and childcare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm saw how the Leander preschool’s negligence unnecessarily endangered this toddler’s life. We fought for the boy and his family by holding the Leander preschool accountable for failing to follow the minimum standards and secured compensation to cover the child’s extensive medical bills, pain and suffering from the incident, permanent disfigurement, and the other damages that he suffered so that he and his family could move forward.
The Button Law Firm Can Help Your Family with a Daycare or Childcare Allergic Reaction Case
If your child experienced a severe allergic reaction at a daycare or childcare center because caregivers did not comply with Texas’ minimum standards, contact our experienced daycare and childcare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. With attorneys 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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