When a young loved one is entrusted to the care of a daycare facility, it is particularly upsetting to learn of an injury to that minor child due to the negligence of the daycare provider. Often, in this situation, the child is very young, and typically not yet able to verbalize how they were injured. Thus, these types of claims typically require forensic evidence to support the claim, plus common sense.
A great example is a case handled successfully by DC premises liability attorney Roger Gelb. In this particular case, a very young child, was taken to a day care facility in no apparent distress – not crying and not fussy in any way. A few hours after the child was dropped off, the parents were called and asked to pick up the child because the baby was crying uncontrollably. Even after rescuing the young child, the crying continued non-stop, prompting the parents to bring the child to the pediatrician. The doctor examined the baby and discovered the crying became more intense when the doctor touched one of the baby’s legs. The pediatrician ordered the child to be taken to the emergency room, where a fractured leg was diagnosed.
The biggest hurdle in these claims, other than dealing with a plaintiff that often can’t communicate, is actually insurance coverage for the daycare facility. Often these providers are uninsured and unlicensed, and are simply run out of someone’s home. The homeowner’s policy rarely covers commercial enterprises run out of the home. Without insurance coverage, making a recovery on these cases can become challenging.
Speaking purely in terms of the law, there are four main things that determine negligence. The first is duty: does the daycare have the legal responsibility to take care of your child? Next, we ask if the daycare breached this duty in some way. For example, would your child’s injury have been preventable if there was proper supervision as promised when you hired the company. The next two, causation and damages, go hand in hand. The question becomes did the breach of that duty cause the damages that are being treated. So, was your child’s injury where he/she had to get four stitches a direct result of this breach in duty. You must to be able to prove these four elements in order to have a case. If it isn’t possible to prove that the breach of duty actually caused the damages, there is no case.
Of course, every case is different so we always recommend contacting an attorney with more specific questions. As in all personal injury cases, it’s imperative that you call to discuss your case with an experienced attorney to discuss your options. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia attorney Roger Gelb and his firm have represented over 10,000 clients and have recovered in excess of $100,000,000.00 (one hundred millions dollars) since its founding in 1954. Contact us today for a free consultation.