Receiving a phone call from daycare that your child has been injured is one of a parent’s worst nightmares. Unfortunately, minor bumps, scrapes, and bruises are a normal part of childhood, but enrolling your child in a licensed daycare facility can go a long way to protect them from harm and severe injuries while you are at work.
If you’re wondering what to look for in a daycare, or you’re not sure which elements are most important to consider when selecting the best childcare option for your family, we’ve compiled some helpful tips.
Make Sure Your Daycare is Licensed
Licensed daycare facilities – including family child care, group child care and day camps – are required to follow strict regulations from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF). In an effort to promote the health, safety and welfare of all children, DCF conducts ongoing inspections of licensed daycare facilities to ensure that key rules are being followed.
These rules relate to:
- the required staff/child ratios for children of each age
- the training and background check requirements for staff
- documentation procedures of care during the day and following an injury
Continually Monitor Your Child Care Program
It’s important for parents to play an active role in evaluating your child’s care arrangement. In addition to ensuring the environment is clean, safe, and free from hazards on a daily basis, review reports and information posted by DCF at your location. If this information is not readily available, request it from management. If the daycare or its employees violate the rules established to keep your child safe, you may have a claim in the event of an injury. Remember, these rules are designed to protect your child, but if your daycare is not licensed, it’s much more difficult for DCF to enforce them.
Ask About Insurance
In addition to providing a safe, secure and well-rounded child care program, entrusting your child to a licensed daycare program means that they are more likely to have insurance coverage. So, in the event of an injury, their coverage will be available to help pay for your child’s medical bills.
What Should You Do in the Event of an Injury at Daycare?
If you’re faced with a situation where your child is hurt in a daycare, you should receive a detailed injury report from the daycare staff. Review the report carefully, make sure you understand what happened and why, and ask questions if something either doesn’t make sense or doesn’t add up.
It’s important to call an experienced attorney right away, so that evidence isn’t destroyed. For example, in one case we handled, the daycare had video surveillance of an injury that supported our client’s claim. If we hadn’t quickly sent a letter to request the specific video of the incident, it would have been recorded over from the date of the injury.
At Murphy & Prachthauser we practice personal injury law the way it should be practiced – motivated and equipped to do our best for you. We take pride in being good lawyers who help people.
We’ve successfully represented several cases against daycare facilities in the past, and we’re happy to help evaluate whether you and your child have a claim.