When you entrust your child to a childcare facility, you count on it to provide attentive, tender care to your little ones. If the employees are negligent and your child suffers a severe injury, your concern for your child might be heightened by your anger at the negligent workers at the facility.
An experienced DuBois premises liability attorney could help you take action to hold the facility accountable and receive compensation your family’s losses. Talk to DuBois daycare injury lawyer right away to learn about your legal options.
Many facilities require parents to sign a legal-looking document that purports to prevent them from suing the facility if their child suffers an injury while at daycare. Because the facility often will not accept a child if their parent does not sign the liability waiver, most parents sign.
Parents should understand that despite signing a waiver, they still could have a case against a negligent daycare. Many waivers are unclear or confusing, and a court might invalidate some portions of the document on that basis. Furthermore, courts might find that it is against public policy for a business that profits from caring for children to insulate itself from liability for negligent care.
Determining the effectiveness of a liability waiver in a particular case depends on the facts and circumstances surrounding an incident that resulted in a child’s injury. Parents should consult with a seasoned DuBois attorney to discover what impact a signed waiver might have on their negligent daycare case.
To win any personal injury lawsuit, the injured person must demonstrate the negligence of another party and show that the negligence directly caused the plaintiff’s injury. Proving negligence requires the plaintiff to show that the defendant breached a duty to the plaintiff.
Young children have minimal autonomy and cannot effectively protest if someone mistreats them. For these reasons, daycares have an enhanced duty to ensure that the premises of the facility are safe for children, their employees are well-trained and qualified to work with young children, and they have policies in place to safeguard the children in their charge.
If a daycare fails to uphold any of its obligations, the facility is negligent. Furthermore, if an employee breaches his or her duty of care, the daycare facility could be held liable through a theory called vicarious liability, which means that the employer stands in the shoes of its employees and is liable for the negligent acts of the employees. A savvy DuBois attorney could investigate the circumstances of a child’s injury at a daycare facility to pinpoint the negligent acts that led to the incident.
A parent should immediately seek medical attention for a child if there is an injury at a daycare. The medical record will be critical evidence linking the facility’s negligence to the child’s injury. If the child sees a doctor right away, it becomes harder for the facility to dispute that the injury is related to an incident at the daycare.
Once the child has received treatment, it is wise to consult a childcare injury attorney in DuBois. State law limits the time an injured person has to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for their injuries. The statute of limitations generally requires that a lawsuit be filed within two years of the incident. That rule remains true for parents seeking to recover for medical bills incurred on behalf of the child, for which the parents remain responsible. However, a claim for the child’s physical injury and related pain and suffering can be filed as late as the 20th birthday.
In all cases, it is better to consult with an attorney sooner rather than later. If the parents secure legal representation right away, the advocate could begin an independent investigation of the incident immediately. He or she could take witness statements while memories are fresh and secure any important physical evidence before it is lost, disposed of, or destroyed.
If your child was hurt while in childcare, you are probably focusing all your energy in his or her recovery. Allowing a DuBois daycare injury lawyer to handle the legal aspects of your case could help you recover the compensation you need to help your child.
Do not delay taking action against a negligent facility and the workers whose carelessness harmed your child. Schedule a consultation with Marcus & Mack today.
