Don’t Make These Top 5 Mistakes When Filing a Daycare Lawsuit

Any incident at a daycare or childcare center involving your child can be scary and overwhelming. Upon learning about your child’s injury, it can be difficult to focus or consider long-term next steps, like filing a lawsuit against the daycare or childcare center. These oversights or mistakes early on can potentially hinder a future attempt at holding the negligent facility and any relevant caregivers accountable for harming your child.

No need to worry. Our experienced and knowledgeable Texas daycare and childcare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm have compiled this list of the top 5 mistakes parents make when filing a daycare lawsuit so you can avoid them.

1. Not Getting an Incident Report from the Daycare Center

All daycare and childcare centers in Texas are required to complete an incident report that is submitted to the state and the parents of the child harmed or injured at a facility. These reports document details of what happened, how a child was harmed, the cause of the incident, and the teachers and caregivers responsible for the child.

State agencies then use the incident report as a starting point for a third-party investigation to uncover what exactly happened that led to a child’s injuries. The findings may result in the daycare or childcare center receiving one or more citations for its failures to comply with Texas daycare laws, also known as the minimum standards. 

Some negligent daycare or childcare centers may falsify information on an incident report to downplay what happened and avoid blame for causing a child’s injury. Our experienced legal team has also encountered situations where negligent facilities try to cover up serious incidents by not completing an incident report at all. Watch this video to get more details on what to do if you suspect your child’s daycare covered up a serious incident or injury.

2. Not Gathering Enough Evidence Quickly

It is best to gather any evidence related to your child’s injury at a daycare or childcare center as soon as possible in order to strengthen a possible legal case against the facility. Important evidence in a daycare or childcare injury lawsuit includes:

• Taking photos of your child’s injury.
• Seeking immediate medical attention by taking your child to an emergency room, an urgent care center, or your pediatrician’s office to evaluate and document the full extent of your child’s injuries.
• Going to the daycare or childcare center and obtaining witness statements while the memories of other parents, caregivers, and staff members are fresh.
• Documenting and screenshotting any emails or text messages from the daycare or childcare center or any of its caregivers regarding the incident involving your child.
• Obtaining any surveillance footage from the area at the center where the incident occurred. Record the footage with your smartphone or requesting a copy of the footage from the daycare or childcare center.

Waiting too long to gather evidence after a daycare or childcare injury can result in foggy memories or deleted surveillance footage. While you may have a valid case against a negligent facility, it makes it more difficult to prove. 

3. Not Hiring the Right Lawyer

If your child was hurt while in the care of a daycare or childcare center, you need the best daycare injury lawyers on your side. Daycare injury cases can be complex since they can span multiple practice areas like premises liability, criminal acts, or, in tragic incidents, wrongful death of a child. That is why you will need to find someone experienced in daycare and childcare injuries and well-versed in the nuances of Texas childcare laws.

Before you start a Google search, follow these five tips to help you choose the best lawyer to help your family get justice and move forward after a daycare or childcare injury.

4. Not Being Familiar with Basic Daycare and Childcare Requirements

Before selecting a daycare or childcare center for your child, it is important to understand the rules and regulations that daycare centers are required to follow, also known as the minimum standards. While you don’t have to be an expert on the standards, knowing the basics will help you identify red flags at a local facility and know what to look for when seeking childcare help that will keep your child safe.

If your child is harmed at a local daycare or childcare center, knowing basic standards may help you point to obvious deficiencies or negligence that either caused or contributed to your child’s injuries. 

5. Waiting Too Long to File the Lawsuit  

The amount of time a parent or guardian has to file a lawsuit after a child’s daycare or childcare injury is known as the statute of limitations. In Texas, that time limit is two years from the date of the incident that harmed or put your child in danger.

Frequently, parents make the mistake of waiting until the week or day before the statute of limitations ends to take legal action against a daycare or childcare center. Unfortunately, most lawyers may not accept a case that is close to the deadline because there is not enough time to investigate the incident fully and prepare for the lawsuit filing.

What Should I Do After My Child Was Hurt at a Daycare or Childcare Center?

We understand you may not know where to turn or what to do after your child is harmed at a local childcare facility. That’s why our experienced daycare and childcare injury lawyers have created a free 5-step guide to help you avoid these common mistakes and navigate the aftermath of the incident involving your child.

Get Justice for Your Child After a Daycare Injury with The Button Law Firm

If your child suffered an injury because of negligent practices at a daycare or childcare center anywhere in Texas, our team of experienced and compassionate daycare and childcare 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.