As a parent, your priority is to always keep your child safe and happy, even while relying on childcare help. Sometimes, despite your best efforts to Trust Your Gut When You Notice Red Flags at a Daycare Center.
You have most likely heard of a mother’s intuition. If you sense something is wrong with your child at a daycare center, you are probably right. Our daycare injury lawyers urge you to trust your gut. The best-case scenario is that your little one is safe and sound, so it does not hurt to investigate.
In our experience helping families across the Lone Star State after a daycare injury, these are the common red flags that often indicate negligent care at a daycare center:
- Caregivers blame others. Incident reports are a great way to make sure whatever happened to your child follows a clear, believable story. However, even with incident reports, caregivers may try to place blame on other children or even your own child’s clumsiness in an attempt to avoid liability.
- Caregivers or daycare staff avoid talking to you. If the caregivers or management seem to be avoiding you, they may be trying to hide an incident that happened to your child.
- Your child gets most of the attention. If your child seems like they’re the caregivers “favorite” it may mean they have taken a special interest in your child. We have seen this common pattern in cases of sexual abuse at daycare centers. Read this article for tips on to speak to your child about their experience at the daycare center.
- The caregivers don’t care. If it seems like the person taking care of your child is uninterested or aloof, they are most likely failing to pay proper attention to your child. Caregivers who are distracted by their phones or non-daycare related conversation with their coworkers do not have an adequate eye on the children under their care, which can lead to more daycare incidents.
- Lack of caregiver supervision. The best daycare centers have live surveillance streaming that’s available to parents, but if that’s not the case, the director should be overseeing the day-to-day care that the staff is providing. By monitoring the caregivers’ ability to follow Texas daycare laws in the classroom, management can assure you that your child is being protected.
Learn more about red flags of dangerous daycare centers in this video.
If Your Child Experiences a Daycare Injury, Report The Incident to Help Other Parents, Too.
When looking for a safe daycare center, most parents rely on reviews, recommendations from other parents, and a center’s safety record with the state. That’s why after a child’s physical or emotional injury at daycare center, reporting the incident should always be among the first steps you should take.
The two ways to file a daycare incident report in Texas:
- Call the Texas Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-5400 for issues that need to be addressed within 24 hours. This includes injuries to a child 5 years old or younger, instances of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and other serious injuries.
- Online at TXAbuseHotline.org.
Getting the state involved will prompt an independent investigation into what happened at the daycare center. It will also create a documented trail that other parents can reference when they are searching for a daycare center.
Taking Legal Action Can Help Your Family Get Justice and Prevent Future Incidents at the Daycare Center.
After a child’s daycare injury, assessing your options helps you confidently decide on taking legal action or not. Filing a lawsuit can help hold a daycare center accountable for its safety failures that caused a child’s injury. (There is a two-year time limit from the date of the incident at the daycare center to take legal action in Texas.)
With this step, a family can get justice and recoup any costly medical and therapy expenses, also known as damages. Our experienced and compassionate daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm will help you navigate this difficult experience and let you know what your options are.
If you decide to take legal action, know that it can and will help future parents from experiencing similar incidents at the hands of the same childcare center.
For more information, including what to expect when filing a daycare injury lawsuit, read our guide here. Also, learn the common mistakes to avoid when suing a daycare center in this article.
Want to Learn More? Get a Free Case Evaluation with The Button Law Firm.
If your child was physically or emotionally harmed or injured because of negligent practices at a daycare or childcare center anywhere in Texas, our team of experienced and compassionate daycare and child injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm can help. We’re dedicated to advocating for you and your family. We are ready to listen and fight for your family to get justice and 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. Get a free case evaluation by calling us at 214-699-4409, emailing us at [email protected], or filling out a contact form.
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