For many parents, the thought of putting their child in day care can be scary. Whether the day care is at a facility or in someone’s home, the decision to entrust the safety and well being of your child to another person must be made with care and caution. There are stories in the news all the time about children being mistreated while under the supervision of day care providers. While Pennsylvania does have a litany of statutes to ensure that children are in good hands while at day care, there is not a guarantee that an accident or injury will not happen.
Poor Supervision Leads to Dangerous Situations
Often times, lack of supervision is the number one culprit for injuries to children at day care. Either there is inadequate staffing at the facility, which results in not enough adult supervision, or the staff is poorly trained and is unable to properly supervise the children. Less than a month ago, a Philadelphia day care center was shut down after a 10-month-old child was found unresponsive at the facility and later died at the hospital. The investigation into this tragedy revealed that the little girl was brought to day care feeling sick and the staff failed to provide additional care or supervision to the child for several hours. To make matters worse, this day care center was previously cited for violations including a lack of training and lack of adequate staff to supervise the children.
Situations like this are a parent’s worst nightmare and it all can easily be prevented. While the parents of an injured child have the opportunity to sue the day care center for damages that stemmed from their child’s injury, no amount of money could ever compensate for this tragedy. In order to be successful in bringing a suit against a day care center, the parents must prove that the day care center or their employee acted unreasonably or failed to act in a reasonable manner while supervising the child. Based on this, the simple fact that a child was injured at the day care facility is not enough to successfully prove a case for damages.
What to Look for in a Day Care Provider
The best course of action for a parent is to help avoid this type of situation altogether is to research the day care facility before enrolling the child. A facility should always be able to provide you information regarding their operating licenses, accreditations from national organizations, their liability insurance, the training the staff has received, the ratio of staff to children, size of the class your child will be assigned to, and facility safety and first aid protocols. Being diligent about thoroughly researching a day care center will help weed out the day care facilities that are not up to standard with the level of care offered.
If your child has suffered an injury while under the care and supervision of a day care provider, it is imperative that you contact an experienced personal injury attorney in Philadelphia to explore the options available to you and your child.