Dallas Daycare Abuse Attorney

Daycare Abuse Liability and Negligence Discussed by Dallas Attorney Michael Grossman

When a child suffers some form of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse while at a daycare facility in Dallas, Texas law empowers the parents of the child to seek punitive measures against those responsible in the form of a civil suit.

While most law firms have experience with more conventional personal injury matters such as car accidents, the attorneys of Grossman Law Offices have a strong working knowledge of the more subtle legal theories that should be utilized in a daycare abuse case. This article serves to inform parents of the specifics behind the applicable legal concepts.

By what means can a negligent party be held liable for abuse or neglect at a Dallas Daycare facility?

As in all personal injury matters in Texas, the remedies available to the victims of daycare abuse are outlined in the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code. Essentially, the parents of the child (acting on the minor child's behalf) are empowered to file a a claim or lawsuit against the facility where the abuse occurred. In a daycare abuse case the victims have the burden of proving that the defendants are liable in some way for the injuries that the child sustained, and such liability is typically established by showing that the facility was negligent in some way.

Negligent supervision is perhaps the most common type of negligence alleged in Dallas daycare abuse claims. Negligent supervision can be claimed in the event that a supervising adult failed to provide for the safety of a child in their care. Such a claim can be brought against a daycare worker, a secondary employee like a bus driver or janitor, or any other adult that may be tasked with watching over a child or a group of children. When an adult fails to take proper action to either prevent a dangerous situation or to rescue a child from a hazardous circumstance and that child suffers injury or death, they may be held liable through a claim of negligent supervision.

Perhaps a slightly less understood theory of negligence is that of negligent entrustment. This is an important theory for bringing a successful claim against a daycare facility itself rather than simply bringing a claim against the individual daycare employee that caused the harm. For instance, imagine a scenario where a child suffers a serious injury when she falls from a ladder that was left out by an adult (it sounds preposterous but this example is based on an actual event that occurred). If this incident occurred while the ward charged with monitoring the child was out of the room, certainly you can bring a claim of negligent supervision against the ward. However, you may also be able to bring a claim against the daycare facility itself by showing that the facility negligently entrusted the ward to watch over the child.

Naturally, such a claim must be predicated upon the ward being inexperienced or in some way unfit to perform the duties they were entrusted with. To be clear, our firm holds itself to the highest ethical standards and we would never endorse filing a claim against a daycare facility for the actions of a single employee unless a valid cause of action could be substantiated and, therefore, would justify such a claim. However, in most instances of daycare abuse that our firm has litigated, the negligence of the daycare facility itself (and not just a single employee) is almost universal. From a strategic point of view, such a theory is vital if the goal of the victim's suit is to recover monetary compensation, since the daycare facility is more likely to be financially solvent than the low-paid daycare employee.

Another theory of liability known as negligent hiring may be claimed in instances where a daycare company or other employer, such as a bus company, failed to conduct a reasonable background check on a prospective employee. If a prospective employee with a criminal history or a background indicative of possible, future, detrimental issues then commits an act of child abuse, the employer can be an additional defendant in a daycare child abuse personal injury case due to negligent hiring practices.We trust the health and well being of our children to professionals when we pay them to watch over our children. As such, it is reasonable to assume that the facility owes a considerable duty of care with regard to putting forth the diligence necessary to screen their employees to avoid exposing our children to individuals who have a proclivity toward dangerous or reckless behavior.

Some other common applicable theories of negligence that our Dallas daycare abuse attorneys use in these cases :

• Failure to meet the standards set forth in the Texas Minimum Standards for Licensed Child Care Centers
• Breach of contract
• Failure to show general competency or sound judgment
• Lack of proper supervision of daycare employees
• Failure to extract a child from a dangerous situation
• Failure to meet an acceptable standard of care for a daycare, after-school program, shelter care, or child-care home
• Failure to provide reasonable and timely treatment of an injured child
• A claim of res ipsa loquitor (“the thing speaks for itself”), which means that a child under the exclusive control of the daycare center would not have experienced an injury were it not for the negligent behavior of a daycare worker or other entity at the site
• Misrepresentation or fraud
• General negligence

When any of these theories of liability can be substantiated against the defendant, an aggrieved family will likely be able to seek compensation and pursue justice against a negligent party through a personal injury lawsuit in a Dallas County court of law. By seeking legal action against the liable parties responsible for causing harm or allowing harm to befall their child, such a family will be working to ensure that future incidents do not occur due to the continued negligent behavior of a daycare, its workers, or others involved in the daily routine of a daycare’s business.