Common Injuries That Children Receive at Childcare Facilities

As a parent, you’re not able to watch your child all day every day because of your busy schedule, and that’s where childcare facilities come into play. When you place your child in someone else’s hands you expect them to treat them as well as you would, but sometimes that isn’t the case. No matter how much research you do about a facility, you never know if your child is in danger until after the fact.

According to a survey from the National Institute of Child Health Development, only 10 percent of child care facilities observed provided a lot of positive care, which they define as a primary indicator of child care quality. While percentages for giving a fair amount of positive care or some positive care are higher, you’d expect the percentage of giving a lot of good care to be higher, especially since you’re entrusting the facility with the most precious person in your life.

When children aren’t getting overly positive care, that’s when they are more prone to injuries at daycare. Most injuries that children get at daycare are minor. But since children are small and more fragile than adults, some injuries that would seem minor to adults can easily be fatal for kids. Here are some of the most common injuries that children at childcare facilities acquire:

• Scrapes, cuts, and bruises
• Burns
• Broken bones
• Falls
• Poisoning
• Choking
• Drowning
• Traumatic brain injury

Now that you know what can happen to your child at daycare, let’s look at the specific locations where these injuries happen.

Where Injuries Happen in Childcare Facilities

When your child is under the care of a childcare facility, they’re likely not the only child there. It can be difficult for staff to pay attention to every child at all times, which can lead to accidents that cause injuries. Even though Mississippi law requires play areas to be free from hazards and for pools to be fenced off, not every accident can be prevented.

Some of the places where accidents are more likely to happen include:

• Playgrounds – While the intent of playgrounds is for kids to have fun, they can be deadly without constant supervision. The most common injuries on playgrounds are traumatic brain injuries, strangulation, and broken bones from falls.
• Inside play areas – When the play area inside the facility doesn’t have enough soft areas or has too much furniture with sharp edges, children can easily get hurt. If the kitchen area is not fenced off, or any other part of the facility with hot surfaces, children can get burns because they do not know to avoid stoves, furnaces, heaters, or other hot objects.
• Toys – Not only can some toys scratch or bruise children if there are small pieces, but they can also easily choke on them if they are not properly supervised around the toys.
• Pools – Although these are rare at childcare facilities, there still is a chance that there is a pool, or the class takes a trip to a pool. If a child is not wearing a life jacket, can’t swim, or is left unattended near or in a pool, they could easily drown.

Before choosing a childcare center for your child, make sure to visit and watch how staff interact with the children because even staff can be responsible for injuries to your child, whether they are intentionally harming them or not.

You Could Use the Help of a Jackson Premises Liability Lawyer

The childcare facility is responsible for your child’s safety in their space and while using their toys, so when they get injured, you’ll need experienced representation on your side. A premises liability lawyer from Pittman Roberts & Welsh, PLLC can do that for you. We’ll look into the childcare facility’s negligence and the laws they were violating that led to your child’s injury.

Though it’s tough knowing your child has been harmed, you can get peace of mind by holding the facility responsible for their harmful actions. Justice can help you heal and ensure that no other family will have to go through the same pain that you experienced. If you believe you have a claim, reach out to our office today.