Daycare Accidents & Abuse: Family Rights After a Child Is Injured in Georgia
No matter how carefully you vet a day care center, no matter how much the administrators and teachers promise to keep your child safe, accidents will happen. While scrapes, bruises, and tears are often a normal part of play and learning for kids, severe injuries or emotional trauma are not.
In Georgia, daycare centers are legally obligated to provide a safe environment for children under their care. Here’s what you need to know about daycare injuries and whether it's necessary to get a personal injury attorney involved to help cover medical bills and review your legal options.
For immediate legal assistance, call Gary Martin Hays & Associates at (770) 934-8000 to receive a free consultation and case review.
What to Do Immediately After Your Child Is Injured at Daycare
If your child was injured at a daycare facility in Georgia and you have not done so already, take them to urgent care or the emergency room for medical attention. Document their injuries by taking pictures, gathering statements from witnesses like other parents or teachers, and preserving any evidence related to the injury.
Afterwards, follow up with your child’s pediatrician. They can further assess you child's condition, decide what additional treatment is needed, and refer you to specialists. It’s critical that the child receives the right care for their injuries, as they may not be able to communicate what is wrong or where their pain is.
What Are the Daycare Facility’s Responsibilities After a Child Is Injured?
Once the child has been removed from the dangerous situation, the daycare has a legal obligation to promptly notify parents or guardians of the child’s injuries. They should provide you with details of the injury, how it happened, and what was done to treat the injury. If the daycare facility did not notify the parents or guardians for a lengthy period of time, tried to downplay the injuries, or didn’t communicate at all, this may be evidence of negligence and should be mentioned to an attorney after hiring legal counsel.
What Type of Injuries Can a Daycare Be Held Liable For?
Common daycare injuries, such as minor tumbles, playground accidents, and outbreaks of illnesses, don’t generally require legal intervention (unless there is a repeated pattern of suspicious injuries). Liability may be involved in cases of:
- Broken bones
- Brain and head injuries
- Burns, cuts, bites, and scratches
- Fall injuries
- Choking
- Severe bruising and internal soft tissue injuries
- Sexual and psychological abuse
Should You File a Claim Against the Daycare for Negligence?
There are a few ways to hold a daycare facility accountable while also getting the money necessary to cover the financial burden of medical treatment for a child’s injuries. When filing a personal injury claim, the claim is made against the daycare’s insurance. Licensed daycares are not required in Georgia to carry liability insurance, but most have it.
Until the case is resolved, it is best to submit all medical bills through your health insurance. Hiring a personal injury attorney can help alleviate the burden of paperwork and expenses associated with insurance bureaucracy.
Most personal injury cases settle during the negotiation phase after the treatment phase is complete. However, if the insurance company refuses to make a fair offer, an attorney may suggest the client continue the case by filing a lawsuit.
At Gary Martin Hays & Associates, our personal injury attorneys are courtroom advocates and aren’t afraid to file a lawsuit to protect a family’s rights and recovery.
What If the Child Was Injured at an Unlicensed Private Daycare?
Cases become more complex when a child is injured at an unlicensed daycare, especially since most do not carry insurance to cover liability. An attorney can review the options available for a parent or guardian to file a personal injury claim for a child’s injury, such as homeowner’s insurance.
How to Prove a Daycare Was Negligent Regarding a Child’s Injury
Georgia has some regulations and licensing requirements to protect children in daycares. These rules cover safety measures, background checks, health and safety, and staff-to-child ratios. Failure to comply with these regulations and standards could result in unsafe conditions, unqualified employees, or too many children to properly care for and manage.
Examples of daycare negligence may look like:
- Unlocked doors, allowing a child to wander outside and be struck by a car
- Illness and rashes from unchanged soiled diapers or clothes
- Unchecked bullying between children
- Leaving dangerous items within reach
- Unsecured furniture falling on top of a child
It’s important to document the unsafe conditions and acquire photos of the scene or video of the incident. Ask for an incident report from the daycare center and report the child’s injury to the Georgia Department of Human Services’ Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) so the State can conduct an independent investigation.
What If There Is Evidence of Caretaker Abuse at a Daycare?
The vast majority of daycare staff are caring and hardworking, but there are instances of staff members who should not be working with children and cause egregious harm. Abuse can be physical, with the child suffering skull fractures and neck injuries from throwing, shaking, or hitting. Or a child’s injuries can be emotional, caused by things like verbal cruelty or being locked away in dark, small spaces.
Any suspicion of abuse should be taken seriously. Consult a daycare injury lawyer not only about the civil damages from a child’s injuries, but also the criminal charges that may be brought against the abusive staff member. The facility itself may also be held liable for ignoring past incidents of abuse and not properly holding its employees accountable.
Consult With a Daycare Injury Attorney in Georgia
Every daycare injury case is unique, and no internet article can replace the expertise and one-on-one conversation between a client and an attorney. If your child was injured at a daycare center in Georgia, reach out to Gary Martin Hays today at (770) 934-8000 to talk about your case and how we can help your family find justice and healing.
