Your Rights if Your Child is Injured at Daycare
A lot of consideration goes into choosing the right daycare for your child. While most parents would prefer to care for their young ones on their own, sometimes that’s just not a possibility. It can be incredibly difficult to deal with a situation in which your child is injured by the same people you trusted to protect them. Here’s an overview of your rights if your child is injured at daycare.
Common Daycare Injuries
Unfortunately, daycare injuries can and do occur. Some of the most common daycare injuries include:
- Scrapes, bruises, and cuts
- Traumatic head injury
- Choking
- Poisoning
- Falls
- Broken bones
- Facial lacerations
- Sprains
A child may be injured while climbing out of a crib or on the playground. While injuries can occur under anyone’s watch, if the daycare staff wasn’t properly watching your child, they may be more likely to occur. If your child is injured due to a staff member at the daycare acting in a way that is negligent, you may have the right to a personal injury lawsuit.
Some daycares try to limit their liability by having parents waive their rights when they first enroll their child in daycare. This doesn’t necessarily stop you from filing a lawsuit. As a parent, you have a right to ensure the protection of your child and that may be filing a lawsuit against a daycare that causes them an injury.
Important Steps to Take if Your Child is Injured at Daycare
You’re likely to have a lot of emotions after finding out that your child was injured while at daycare. The first emotion is usually fear and panic as you decide what to do. While this is normal, it’s also important to be rational and take the necessary steps to not only get your child the assistance they need but also protect your lawsuit eligibility.
After you receive any medical care you need for your child, begin to document their injury. This includes collecting medical documents and reaching out to any witnesses. If child neglect is possible, it may also be important to reach out to the local police. Then, it may be worth it to reach out to a lawyer. A personal injury lawyer can help you evaluate your options and decide if you have a case. While filing a lawsuit against the daycare won’t take away your child’s injury, it can provide your family with the funds you need to deal with it. It can also bring light to a problem at the daycare that could potentially save other children from injuries.
There are a few people who could be liable when a daycare injury occurs. It may be the daycare facility’s fault for the injury due to unsafe conditions, such as faulty playground equipment. It could also be the staff’s fault if a specific caregiver is negligent when caring for your child. With a few different potential people to blame, it’s important to carefully investigate the case.
You and your family may be able to seek compensation for medical bills, lost wages, rehabilitative care, and pain and suffering. There’s also the cost of moving your child to a new daycare facility to consider.
Contact a Nutley Personal Injury Lawyer to Discuss Your Daycare Injury Case in New Jersey
Did your child sustain serious injuries due to a daycare injury in New Jersey? Don’t let the medical bills pile up while you wait for the negligent party or their insurance company to do the right thing. Right now, you need an aggressive personal injury attorney on your side, fighting to get you the compensation you need, want, and deserve. The skilled attorneys at Birkhold & Maider, LLC represent clients injured because of daycare injuries in Nutley, Garfield, Hackensack, Teaneck, and throughout New Jersey. Call (973) 784-8583 or fill out our online contact form today to schedule a free consultation about your work injury case. Our main office is located at 189 Franklin Avenue #1 Nutley, NJ 07710, and we also have an office in Hamilton, NJ.
The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.