How Could My Child Get Hurt at a Plano Daycare Center?

What Are Some Common Daycare Injuries in Plano, Texas?

Our team has experience working with families in Plano and across the Lone Star State, and we have helped several of them recover after their children were hurt in daycare incidents. Here, we identify the top types of injuries that occur and outline cases we have worked on in Plano.

• Abuse: This can take the form of physical, mental, or sexual abuse. Unqualified caregivers and a lack of supervision are the most common culprits of daycare abuse, and our team has seen cases of it. In one case, a child was sexually abused by the caregiver’s son at an at-home daycare center. At another daycare facility, a caregiver injured a child by slamming her onto a sleep mat in an attempt to make her go to sleep.
• Allergic Reactions: Daycare centers average 2 children with food allergies in each classroom, according to the CDC. A caregiver in Plano, clearly unaware of allergens, which are taught in annual training, provided children with a trail mix that contained nuts. One of the children in her care had a severe nut allergy and suffered a severe, yet preventable, allergic reaction. Caregivers are responsible for knowing who in their classroom has allergies, and management is responsible for properly documenting each allergy in each classroom so that these incidents do not occur.
• Burns: Daycare centers might not seem like places where burns can occur, but there are a few main culprits of child burn injuries: bottle warmers and cleaning chemicals. At a Plano daycare center, a child suffered severe burns after being left alone near a bottle warmer, which is a device that heats up formula and milk for babies. Cleaning chemicals, meant to ward off germs and clean up messes, are required to be put away in a space where children cannot access them. If caregivers neglect to keep these items away from children, little ones can suffer burns from the abrasive chemicals.
• Heat-Related Injuries: Plano, like the rest of Texas, experiences long summers with very hot days. Children are typically not allowed outside when the temperature reaches a certain degree, but some daycare centers do not follow these rules. One of the most common ways that children suffer heat-related injuries is when caregivers forget about children, leaving them alone outside in the heat.
• Improper Discipline: The state’s minimum standards outline the do’s and don'ts of disciplinary methods, most of which involve positive reinforcement or redirection. However, some caregivers in Plano fail to abide by them. One of the main ways that caregivers violate discipline laws is by isolating children for too long. (The rule of thumb is that a child can be put in “timeout” for as many minutes as the child is old.) One caregiver went too far by isolating a child in her care for an extended period of time and even hit them when the child disobeyed. Another caregiver at a daycare center in Plano spanked a toddler so hard that severe welts appeared on the child’s bottom. When the toddler’s dad investigated, the daycare center tried to cover it up. 
• Negligence: Caregivers who don’t abide by Texas daycare laws and leave children without proper care are being neglectful. In one case our team handled in Plano, a caregiver carelessly left her vape pen out, and an inquisitive child suffered chemical poisoning when she tried it. Other forms of negligence can occur when a caregiver forgets a child in another room or a daycare van or when children not being watched by a caregiver suffer fall injuries.

What Can You Do If Your Child Is Injured at a Daycare Center in Plano?

If your child suffers an injury at a Plano daycare center, the first step is to make sure your child is safe and sound. Our team recommends following these steps when it comes to daycare center injuries, so parents can feel confident they have done everything they can to protect their little one:

• Seek Medical Attention: Going to a children’s hospital like Children’s Medical Center Plano or making an emergency appointment with your child’s pediatrician can help you as a parent ensure that all injuries have been accounted for and treated. The doctor who helps your family can also provide you with a medical report outlining the injuries and treatments they performed.
• Collect Documentation: Along with a medical report, contacting the daycare center for a (mandatory by law) incident report and any surveillance footage is a great way to get a better idea of what happened. Incident reports are required by the state and must be presented to you within 48 hours of the incident. They outline what happened, when it happened, and any other details of the incident. You may also want to reach out to any parents who may have witnessed the incident and can give you a different perspective than the caregiver’s.
• Report to the State of Texas: When your child is injured at their daycare center, reporting the incident to the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) functions as an extra layer of support for your family. You can contact the DFPS by phone at 800-252-5400 or online at the Texas Abuse Hotline website. The state will conduct an independent review of the incident and can provide you with additional details. Reporting to the state also helps other parents who are looking for a safe daycare center for their child, because these reports serve as public record of daycare incidents that happen at centers in Plano
• Contact The Button Law Firm: Contacting a knowledgeable team of daycare and child abuse attorneys like ours at The Button Law Firm can help your family understand what a daycare center injury could mean for your child. You may decide to seek legal action, but our team is here to support you regardless of that decision.

If you decide to take legal action against the daycare center that injured your child, there are some important things to know. Parents in Plano may be eligible for compensation to cover:

• Emotional damages such as pain and suffering
• Medical expenses to treat your little one’s injury and any long-term care or necessary treatments
• Mental anguish
• Resources to help your child heal and process their emotions in a healthy way

In the state of Texas, there is a 2-year statute of limitations, which means that from the date of the incident, your family has two years to follow through with a lawsuit. Our team is here to help you consider your options and decide whether this is something you may want to pursue, and we will help you understand the timeline of a lawsuit so that you fall within the statute of limitations.

Was Your Child Physically or Emotionally Injured at Their Daycare Center in Plano? Contact The Button Law Firm.

If your child was physically or emotionally harmed at a daycare center in Plano because caregivers did not comply with daycare safety laws, contact our experienced daycare and child injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. 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.