How Would Your Child’s Daycare Respond If Your Child Was Injured By One Of Its Employees?
We represent a child who was injured at daycare. She was injured by a daycare employee who threw a kickball at her head. She was seven years old. The employee was a young adult male. She suffered a concussion.
Before they came to me, the child’s mother gave a recorded statement to the insurance company for the daycare center. She’s a nice lady. She thought she was helping to get the matter resolved. It never occurred to her that once they got all the information from her, they would clam up and become uncooperative.
Did she get an apology for the injury? Nope. Did they offer to pay the child’s bills? No, again. And, then, after being told by the center’s insurance adjuster that her lawyer could take the employee’s statement, how do you think they responded when we called to set it up? The request was met with a very rude “No! Why should we allow that? Get a subpoena.” (Obviously, the insurance adjuster got overruled by the daycare center’s top ‘human resources’ person.)
It’s people like that guy who keep me in this business. Why would he not cooperate? After all, by not allowing us the opportunity to hear his employee’s side of the story in an informal setting, he gave up the chance to prevent the aggravation and cost of a claim being made or a lawsuit being filed. Now, we will have to file a lawsuit to be able to hear from the employee. Although I cannot imagine what his explanation will be for throwing a kickball at a child and hitting her in the head (when they were not playing a game), I’m sure he will have something to say.
The HR director could not have known that on the rare occasions whenI have been allowed to interview a potential wrongdoer before filing a lawsuit, I have decided against including them in a lawsuit. Maybe the reason everyone else would not allow me to interview their insured is because they knew they were wrong. I understand that. The HR director was so rude, I believe there must be something very interesting that I will find out from the man who threw the ball and probably from others at the daycare center, too.
I look forward to hearing what they all have to say — after I file a lawsuit.
What Forms Did You Sign When You Put Your Child in Day Care?
When you registered your child for day care, did the facility require that you sign a waiver of liability?
You probably signed many forms when you registered your child in a daycare center. Was one of them a form stating that you gave up your right to sue the facility on behalf of your child even if an employee of the facility negligently does something (or does NOT do something) that results in injury to your child? Such forms often use the words “waiver of liability.” In most states, if you sign such a form you cannot sue the daycare center if your child is injured, regardless of how serious the injury.
In Virginia, such forms are invalid. They are not enforceable. Why? Because Virginia long ago held such pre-injury release form were against its public policy.
Virginia does not believe that people should give up their right to seek compensation BEFORE they suffer personal injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. So, even if you had to sign such a form, if your child is injured at a daycare facility in Virginia, and it was the fault of one of its employees, you should not assume that you are prohibited from making a claim against the facility.
If you signed such a form and have questions, you should contact an experienced Virginia child injury lawyer who can give you answer your questions.
How Many Times Can A Grandpa Read Curious George to a Child?
As many times as he can!
The grandson, just over two years old, keeps asking for Curious George, so the grandpa keeps reading it to him. Now, of course, the grandson takes a much more active part in the reading, filling in blanks when there’s a pause, delighting when a page is turned and he sees a favorite picture, anticipating words that are about to be spoken. There are so many lessons being learned and messages going on between these two people, I can’t even count them.
It doesn’t get any better than this.
Tips for Finding the Best Daycare for Your Child
Finding great daycare where your child will thrive and be happy and be safe is the most important decision parents face when deciding where their child will be cared for. I have given information here and here and here about resources and things to consider as you make this important decision.
Here’s a link to another article I wrote as a guest post at the Bisnar-Chase law firm in California about Tips for finding great daycare for your child.
Daycare Workers Charged in Baby’s Death
Dylan Cummings died on May 25, 2010. He was seven weeks old. He was at Little Eagles Day Care operated by Bethel Temple Church of Deliverance in Norfolk, Virginia. An investigation after Dylan’s death revealed that there was only one adult for ten infants at the daycare center. Virginia requires that there by one adult for every four infants in daycare facilities.
The facility was not licensed by Virginia because it is considered a religious-exempt facility. The Licensing Division of the Virginia Department of Social Services may only send inspectors to religious-exempt facilities to confirm they are in compliance with Code requirements and to investigate complaints.
Once DSS investigated the daycare center and found its adult-child ratio grossly lacking, charges were filed against Tammy Futtrell and two others who were running the facility. A grand jury recently returned an indictment against Futtrell for homicide and child cruelty/neglect/abuse and against two others for felony child cruelty/neglect/abuse.
It is hard to find words to even respond to such a devastating event. Dylan’s mother Betsy Cummings trusted this daycare center because it was operated and run by a church. The State of Virginia grants such institutions exemptions from licensure because of their religious nature. Yet Dylan died while in the care of Little Eagles Day Care at Bethel Temple Church of Deliverance in Norfolk.
It should not have happened. No one should ever have to leave their child at a daycare center and fear he will be neglected or abused.
Children Need Helmets in the Winter, Too
Helmets aren’t just for riding bikes. Children need head protection for winter sports, too.
I don’t know about where you live, but here it’s icy and cold outside — definitely not bicycle weather. However, there are plenty of outdoor winter sports that children enjoy and that can be dangerous if they don’t have a helmet to protect their brains.
Lots of children ski and rarely do they ski without proper headgear. However, lots of children also sled in the snow. Sometimes those sledding excursions are down steep hills in backyards and neighborhood parks. Sometimes, those hills end at a fence or a street or several trees. Sometimes, children cannot stop in enough time to keep from running into the fence, street or trees. Sometimes, children do not have proper headgear when they go outside to play in the neighborhood snow with friends.
Without proper headgear, those casual neighborhood play times can be the most dangerous. Your child’s head needs to be covered with more than just enough to keep her ears warm. She needs a helmet to protect her from a brain injury.
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons reports that, in 2008, winter sports was one of the top ten sports/ recreational causes of head injuries in children under the age of 14.
No state requires helmets for winter sports. Don’t wait for a state mandate. Please put your child in protective headgear every time she walks out the door to go sledding in the winter. Even mild traumatic injuries can be devastating to a child’s brain.
Wood and Wire Toy Causes Strangulation Death of Young Child
Have you seen a toy like this? 
Or, maybe one similar to this one?
There are big ones and small ones, but all have these crooked wires and wooden beads.
Maybe there’s one in your child’s daycare facility — in someone’s home or in a school setting. I have seen these types of toys in waiting rooms — my dentist has had one in his waiting room for years. I even considered putting one in my waiting room for the children who come to my office.
However, I have changed my mind after reading of the tragic death in Denver, Colorado, of a 17-month old in a home daycare facility. He was left alone (the coroner says for longer than one minute) and was not breathing when he was found by the daycare provider. The autopsy revealed ligature marks (bruises left by binding) on the child’s neck and chest.
There were five children in the Denver home daycare facility. It was a licensed facility. But someone wasn’t watching this little boy.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission was notified of the incident and asked to investigate the safety of these types of toys. But, don’t wait. Add this to your list of unacceptable toys at your child’s daycare facility. If you see one, ask that it be removed immediately.
High School Athletes With Concussions Who Have Neuropsychological Tests Are Sidelined Longer
According to a study published by the American Journal of Sports Medicine, the journal of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, athletes with concussions (closed head injuries) who have neuropsychological tests are less likely to return to play within one week than those who do not have such testing.
The study reported that although the vast majority of athletes’ symptoms (83.4%) resolved within one week of concussion, 1.5% had symptoms that lasted as long as one month.
ESPN The Magazine (perhaps not the most reliable source about medicine, but a source that has a pretty good “read” on things pertaining to sports) recently did a survey of folks involved in high school football (players, coaches, trainers, parents) and found some interesting results. According to its survey, the players themselves were perceived as being the biggest block to diagnosis and prevention. They evidently just don’t want to tell when they are injured or how badly they are hurt.
Let’s be clear: A concussion is a BRAIN INJURY. Symptoms can seem rather ordinary — headache, confusion, dizziness — but can be serious. It is critical that symptoms be treated immediately.
So, if your child suffers a concussion while playing a sport, would you want him to have to pass a neuropsychological test before he returns to playing the sport?
There is no excuse for manufacturers that let defective products reach the market.
Those are not my words. They are the subheading of an article, “Safety First?” in the September 2010 issue of Mechanical Engineering. I might change the headline to read “There are plenty of excuses but no good reasons for manufacturers that let defective products reach the market.”
The headline grabbed my attention because of the recent outright ban on drop-side cribs that came down after a unanimous vote of the board of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Although I was pleased with the ban, I was frustrated that it had taken so long — years and years after reports first came in about babies dying and suffering severe injuries after being strangled because of the failure of the movable parts of the side of the crib.
The author of the article, Peter R. Lewis, is a professor of forensic engineering at The Open University in Milton Keynes, England. Although he doesn’t mention recalls of drop side cribs in his article, he does mention other product failures that have gotten widespread press coverage, the most recent of which were the Deepwater Horizon oil spill fiasco in the Gulf of Mexico and the Toyota accelerator problem last year.
Engineers have a responsibility to design safe and reliable products and to test the prototypes in realistic conditions. Often that responsibility is put in the back seat by decisions of corporate executives to cut corners and save money during the design and testing of products.
Mr. Lewis lists these problems with the manufacture of many of the products that have failed:
- Poor product design
- Failing to test products under realistic conditions
- Speeding through testing steps to get the product in use as soon as possible
- Ignoring early warning signs of failure of a product in use
Proper design and testing of products, early investigation of problems when they begin to appear and prompt action to remedy the defect or remove the product from the stream of commerce, will save countless lives and, in the end, be more cost effective for those corporations that cut corners in the first place in a misguided effort to improve their bottom lines.
Obviously, the current answer to the question posed in the subheading of the article is, unfortunately, “No”.
Drop-Side Cribs Banned
After several recalls over the past three years that have resulted in the recalls of 11 million drop-side cribs, the board of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously yesterday to outright ban the manufacture, sale, re-sale and distribution of drop-side cribs. It also announced requirements for stronger mattress support, crib hardware to be sturdier, and more rigorous safety tests for baby beds.
The ban also prohibits the use of drop-side cribs in hotels, motels and child-care facilities.
The new rules will not take effect for several months and there are still millions of dangerous drop-side cribs in use all over the country. If you have a drop-side crib, the CPSC recommends you test it to be sure it is assembled correctly and that its hardware is secure. Personally, I would go buy a new crib without drop sides. Your baby sleeps in that crib every day. You want to sleep soundly, too.
If your baby goes to a child-care facility, check the cribs in use there. Take your baby elsewhere if the facility has cribs that have been recalled or that are not secure.
If you leave your baby in a nursery at your place of worship, check the cribs.
If you travel and use a crib at a hotel or motel, check the crib.
A representative of the Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association, which represents over 90% of the manufacturers of juvenile products, says that most of the drop-side cribs that have been assembled properly and that have not been recalled can be used safely.Notice he didn’t say all the cribs that were assembled properly and not recalled were safe.
It will be many months before these dangerous drop-side cribs are completely out of circulation. A recall — even a ban — does not mean they immediately, automatically disappear.
If your baby has been injured by a defective drop-side crib, you should speak to a lawyer who is experienced in handling defective products cases. Give me a call at 703-260-6070, or email me at Sandra@RohrstaffLaw.com. I can help you find the right lawyer.
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