Should I Sue the Daycare for Neglect? Advise Please

It is very dangerous for an adult to go down a slide with a toddler. It results in broken bones!

There was just an article on this in the paper. An adult should NEVER go down the slide with a child b/c it catches the leg and can break it. This should be standard knowledge.

They did something dangerous. They need to have a rule that NO adults go on the slide with kids, period. It makes the kids MORE unsafe, not less.

I would not sue, but I would work to change the policy.

I don't know if I would call it neglect but they did not give you the correct info. I just wanted to say that I read a story online or on a magazine site (cannot remember) warning parents about this very thing happening, They are seeing a big increase in small children that go down slides with big kids or adults and getting their leg caught. It scared me enough to refuse to take my son with me or my daughter. I wish it had been put out nationally by doctors or something so everyone would hear about it. I would hope the very least they do is reevaluate the steps they take to contact parents, and do some teaching on dangers you do not think about.

I'm sorry this happened.
But it does sound like an accident.
Yes--they should have called.
Yes--they didn't handle it according to rules, most likely.
The director should terminate BOTH employees for NOT following procedure for an injury.
They offered to cover any uncovered medical bills.
That seems right to me.
Good luck.

Ok, there was an accident and maybe exact protocol was not followed as far as you being notified in a timely manner.

Of course you are upset. I would be upset if my child was hurt as well. Now....STOP thinking through this with your emotions and think about it logically.

It was an accident. They HAVE offered to cover your medical bills PLUS give you "free fun food" (whatever that is) and "field trips".

Would I remove them from the day care... yes I probably would if I lost trust in my caregiver.
Would I accept payment for expenses I incurred out of pocket, yes I would because it is the right thing for them to do.

Would I sue them... NO I would not. Accidents happen, I am sorry but your child could have been hurt under your supervision as well. This is not neglect.

I hate that so many people are sue happy in this country. It sickens me. You do realize the expenses and time you will WASTE trying to sue them? On top of that, many juries now which are involved in a case where someone is suing, they will vote against the person suing and maybe give an award of $1 to close the case. Especially on cases like this.

I have been on a jury in such a case and it is obvious when someone is just after money and suing based on their emotions vs thinking things through logically. I am sure you can find a crude lawyer to take your case but in most cases, a lawyer would not bother.

Be thankful your little one is ok and will be ok and move on.

It isn't neglect, it was an accident that was poorly handled.

Unfortunately, it's a very common playground accident. Every parent and caregiver should know that legs can be broken when a bigger person takes a smaller child down a slide and the child's legs get caught between the adult's leg and the side of the slide. The daycare should have a policy against it.

I do think that Assistant 1 is way out of line and should be fired. Not call a parent about an injury? Ridiculous. And then telling the other assistant not to call and scaring her into not doing the right thing? NO.

I would contact your state's department of health and family services. File a report with them as they oversee licensed childcare providers. They should investigate this.

ETA: A couple of things about your SWH. Yes, you did say it was neglect. It's in your original post. Also, three different stories from three different people isn't a red flag. Different people have different perspectives and different memories. If you ask 3 different doctors to diagnose a person, you're likely to get different answers and different treatment plans.

This was an accident. If you want to make a difference, don't bankrupt the daycare...encourage them to change their policies by utilizing the right avenues.

If it was me, no I would not sue. I would take the re-imbursement for medical expenses, ask for an immediate release from my contract with a refund of any pre-paid care and look for a new place.

I would also notify the licensing agency of the incident, and here is why: the staff at this daycare was OBVIOUSLY not properly trained. It is very well known that it is much more dangerous for a child to go down a slide with an adult (the injury you describe is typical) than going down by themselves and falling. In a daycare situation if a child is not old enough to use the equipment the staff should keep them off it.
Then there is the failure to properly assess the emergency and improper reporting.
There is a lot that could have been done to either prevent this accident or react in a better way, but I am not sure that this meets the legal definition of neglect.

There is no need for you to get back at them. Revenge doesn't get you anything and all that lengthy drawn out court procedures will do is have you dwell on what happened - not to mention the costs of suing (and honestly there is no saying if you really have a good case here, this was stupidity, yes, badly trained staff - sure, but neglect... that's a bit overreaching IMO).

Good luck.

I'm sorry this happened. However, if everyone went around suing schools and daycare's when an accident occurs, there would be no playgrounds for the kids to play on, etc. because they would all take them out for fear of sue happy parents. What would the kids do? Accidents happen. Yes, they should have called you asap. I don't know that I agree this was neglect. They were not neglecting your child, they were actually trying to play and interact with him, and an accident happened. They have offered to cover any out of pocket expenses. I would not sue over this. Upset? Sure. But sue? No.

I'd be po'd too at the way it was handled but your son isn't suffering for 3 weeks bc of neglect. What happened on the slide was an accident and like a poster before me, I think it's great a teacher was taking the time and effort to ride a slide with him. Just an unfortunate incident that could happen to anyone. Only neglect potentially would be that they didn't call you immediately but not that much time was lost in reality. The time factor certainly doesn't impact your son's prognosis or treatment at all. At most maybe an hour was lost. When my nephew fractured his leg, it really wasn't clear how badly he was hurt and they didn't take him till the next day. They're caring attentive parents but it wasn't clear. If the incident was at 4:30, they had to figure out if it was a pain that would clear up quickly and then they should have called by say 5:00. Then you would have had to get there. Not sure how far you are but I"m sure it's at least 10 min. So 5:10. You got there at 6:00. That's 50 min lost. Not much... Do you always get him as late at 6:00? Since it was end of day, they also may have figured you'd be there any minute anyway. So I don't see any basis or reason to sue. What happened on the slide was a complete accident and done during a time of good intentions by the teacher. The lapse of time was short in the grand scheme of things. Not like it happened at 9am and the poor child suffered all day or tried to run around on it making it worse... Even with you going to the hospital they made you wait the weekend. That is not the daycare's fault at all and shows that setting a bone isn't always immediate. A friend's daughter fell off a jungle gym and broke or fractured her arm and it was just in a splint for a couple of days before the cast.

This is NOT neglect, it was an accident. And, they do happen. It sounds like the assistants were actively playing with your son, which is a good thing in my opinion. Unfortunately, his leg got caught. (Similar things have happened to me while I was playing with my DD, but she never broke a bone from it...)

If they had left your son alone and he fell off the slide, THAT would be neglect.

They should have been honest and up front with what happened from the get go, and they should have notified you immediately that your son was injured.

From what it sounds like to me, assistant #1 has an attitude issue that needs addressed.

But they are covering the bills. The director and the one who was responsible for the accident are both taking this incident very seriously, which is another good sign in my book. I would not sue, but would require something be done about the assistant who has the attitude issues and told the other to lie about what happened. SHE needs to at least face some repurchasing for her actions.

I know how bad it sucks... My DD broke her arm ( fell of a bed while in the care of my SIL.) back in July and also had to be casted for 3 weeks. Believe me, it goes by a lot quicker than you would think. After my DD's first week, she no longer had any pain whatsoever.

When you sue someone, you're asking the court to force that party to compensate you for some loss. You aren't entitled to more than that loss. That loss may be easily calculated (medical bills or future income that will be lost). That loss may be something difficult to calculate, like pain and suffering. You can also ask them to punish the other party through punitive damages. Punitive damages and pain and suffering are typically awarded in extreme circumstances, not in cases like this. You can sue anyone you want, but you're not likely to win and you are likely to rack up a lot of legal bills that will far outweigh any award you get.

I can't see action in this case.

OK...so I agree that the daycare did not handle this correctly...or maturely.
However, this was not negligence. My DD broke her tibia kicking a ball at the playground last summer. Also at 2yo. At the time, the ER doc told me this was VERY common. So much so, in fact, that they call it a toddler fracture, because it happens to toddlers more than anyone else.
They're little growing bones can break very easily from seemingly innocuous movements.

So...I think you have a right to be upset about the song and dance you got from the daycare.
But at the end of the day, this was not because someone was not paying attention to your son. Just the opposite, in fact.
And it is very hard to tell whether an injury like this is serious, or where it's even stemming from. I, for example, waited an entire day before taking DD to the ER, just in case it was a weird twist.

Things happen.
But I do not think you have grounds to sue. I think you may be frustrated and over-reacting a bit.

First, I agree that it wasn't neglect. He was going down the slide with assistant 1 - no neglect. It was an accident and they do happen. I would be very concerned about the lying, however. I would not want someone who could and would look me in the face and lie.

IMHO, Assistant 1 probably got legal advice and good legal advice would be not to say anything. Don't admit to anything; don't answer any questions.

I doubt you can sue them because their only real problem was that they lied to you. And you did sign the accident report that says he got his leg caught behind him while going down the slide. That will probably be the story they stick to and since you signed the report and the real story is pretty much that, I doubt you have grounds to sue.

Your best bet is to get the bills paid and switch to another daycare center.

I am not of the mentality to sue. Seems like an awful lot of effort and work put in for what is usually, not a big payout. You have every right to be angry. I know I would be upset too!!

If it were me, I'd get the reimbursement for the medical bills. I would change daycares...immediately. My children would not be back there at all. If it meant I had to take a week off work so be it. Taking the kids back there even for a day is, in a way, "okaying" their actions. If you have absolutely no choice, I would demand different teachers for my younger child. Accidents definitely happen and I imagine no one meant to hurt your child in any way. But lying about things and letting and child with a broken bone suffer are not ok. Changing the story and manipulating facts would also put me at great unease.

And I would make a report about the daycare, director, and employees to the proper licensing authorities in your state. I would also be sure to follow up on these reports to make sure it is being handled.

It was an accident. He could have broken his leg on your watch just as easily.

I'm wondering why they didn't give him pain meds in the ER, that seems negligent to me.

You're upset that this happened to your son and I would be too, but suing the daycare? No.

I would not like the way the situation was handled after the injury either but the injury did not happen because of neglect. The assistant was trying to keep your son safe by going down the slide with your son the way I have gone down the slide with my children dozens of times. Accidents do happen.

Your son's suffering has to do with a fractured bone not the way the daycare handled the situation.

FYI...if you really believe your kids are in danger at this daycare, why in the world would you allow them to spend one more minute at this facility? You have an extremely weak case IMO.

Hope your son feels better soon.

It sounds like it was an accident and I would not sue them.

I would take their offer of covering medical expenses. However, you won't be able to prove negligence easily, so suing, in the end, might end up being more costly to you. I understand you're upset- I would be too. However, your focus should be on your sons and find a more suitable daycare.
I hope your little guy feels better soon. I know he will be just fine.

No, I would not sue. This is not a case for suing. Especially since the director is telling you she has insurance to cover this. That is what a lawsuit is about. Compensation,

Instead I would ask to sit down with the director and tell her that in the future, her people need to make sure they understand, that no matter what happens, if a child is hurt like this, they need to have a standard for how it is to be reported to the parent and the director. That you feel like as a parent you would want to be contacted if, your child was still upset after an hour or 2 hours.. of trying to get him to stand on his leg..
Whatever it is you feel you need.

If you want them to call you with every bump or tumble, whatever, then you need to make sure the day care is able to handle that.

Yes, if they felt at that moment your son was hurt, they should have called you. They also should have felt comfortable to tell the truth to the Director to you and what they wrote on those forms. That will be up to the director to figure out how to handle this situation. As a manager, I tell my people not to be afraid to tell me the truth. I can handle the truth, but I will have a hard time helping them if they cannot be honest with me.,

But if they thought he was frightened or just slightly hurt, meaning like when he normally falls and hurts himself, then they give him a while to calm down and move on along. Since a child this age cannot always tell us what is going on, it is a judgement call. I do think they soon realized he was hurt and I do think they should have called.They need to be retrained on what the procedure is in these situations.

This is like last nights post, this is not an unusual situation. People ride slides with little ones all of the time with no problem but every once in a while, there will be an accident. This happens with parents all of the time.

How many moms and dads have gone down a slide with their children?

They did not do this on purpose. It was an accident,

I know it is very upsetting. No one wants their children to be injured or hurt, especially when we are not with them, but this is all part of parenting. Children like to be played with they like to play and explore. Sometimes, no matter what we do , they still get hurt.

I recall being so mad at myself so many times, when I could not get to my child quickly enough to avoid a spill, tumble, bump, fall whatever. Or have her get injured in my care, whether carrying her, or picking her, up putting her down. Heck, I totally smashed her fingers in the door, when for the 1000th time I told her "Hands in your lap" as I shut the car door..

I was so upset, but mostly mad that this had happened. Thank goodness none of her fingers were broken. Children are pretty sturdy over all and can take a lot of damage, but all it takes is a freak fall, bump or tumble, for them to suffer a more serious injury.

Well, you can sue for neglect but you will lose. This isn't neglect. It was an unfortunate accident compounded by fear.

Hopefully the daycare now has new rules about the proper use of slides.

Good luck finding a new, better, place for your children.

I have a girlfriend who is a medical doctor...she is a very smart woman.

She went down the slide at a fast food place and had the same thing happen and broke her own daughter's leg. It was an accident. She was in a cast for three weeks.

My point is that is a very well educated woman had the exact same accident happen to her as the assistant who slid down the slide with your son. So yes, it was an unfortunate accident.

They are offering to cover any medical expenses that are not covered by your insurance. So you are not out any money. That is taken care of as it should be...

Now the only issue I have is that assistant number 1 did not inform the director and most importantly did not call YOU. That was a huge mistake on her part...AND her not acting remorseful was also a big mistake on her part. So the only true issue I see is with Assistant 1.

I would schedule another meeting with the director and find out what if anything will happen about how assistant 1 handled (or actually didn't handle the accident). I would also make it clear that assistant 1 should no longer be watching my child (if they are even still at the facility after this is all over).

There was no neglect other than not reporting the accident to you immediately.

My daughter broke her leg at 11 months...and we didn't get her in to the doctor for two and a half days...as she was crawling at the time, and it wasn't red or bruised or swollen...just tender and slowed her down a bit. The doctor said she had seen parents go two weeks with broken legs before they brought their kids in because at that age they can be tricky.

My daughter was crawling on her cast when we got home from the pediatric orthopedists office. Didn't slow her down at all.

I wouldn't sue over it...but I would want action taken to see that assistant 1 knows what she did wrong and that it won't happen again to another child.

sure you can sue.. but I bet you wont find a lawyer that willtake the case..

there is no big money to be made here.. it was a bad thing.. but in a few weeks your son will be back to normal.

Oh I would be very upset. Not because of the initial injury. Accidents happen and this was an accident NOT neglect. I would be furious for two reasons. ONE - I did NOT receive a phone call immediately after the accident. They KNEW there was a problem with his leg. TWO - with all of the cover ups and lying. THAT is a deal breaker to me regarding the care of my children. The fact that you were NOT called which to me would be standard protocol would be grounds for termination immediately. I believe both assistance should be terminated.

Sue? No, I wouldn't. I would have them pay your out of pocket expenses and then I would find a new daycare. I would also tell the director that you were leaving and why. I would have NO trust with this facility.

Short story - my daughter was 19 months old and I received a call from daycare around lunch time. She wouldn't walk. They were beside themselves. I picked her up immediately and her knee was very swollen. They said that they never saw her fall and if she did they were so very sorry. I took her to the doctor and found out she had septic arthritis in her knee and had to go to the hospital immediately. She was in surgery by that evening. Had we not received that call and I picked her up at her normal time, she had the possibility of loosing her leg. To me, they save my daughter's life in calling as quickly as they did. Just delaying it that short period of time would have been devastating to her health. That is how important that call was!!!

Sorry, no legal advice for you but if it makes you feel any better, my son suffered the same exact injury at the same age and received the same exact medical treatment (splint over the weekend, cast for 3-4 weeks) and he turned out to be a happy little 2 yr old after all.

Your son will get used to his cast and while he most likely need to stay off his leg, you will have a hard time keeping him off it because he'll already be used to scooting around with it on after about a day or two.

I promise, his childhood and toddler development aren't ruined!

I would not sue, but I would see about filing a report against the assistant at fault. But there is no reason to sue since they already agreed to pay all your out of pocket expenses.

Generally when a child is badly hurt at daycare, the parents IMMEDIATELY stop using that day care.
Your whole case is kind of messed up by the fact that you continue to use them - your actions mean that you still trust them with your kids.
If you feel your kids are in danger, you pull them out and don't come back.
Talk with a lawyer - they are the best resource to determine if you have a case or not.
My general feeling is that people report daycare issues to their licensing agencies so that they will be cited and/or get their license to operate revoked.
They generally don't sue because these places just don't have a lot of money, they have limited liability clauses, and it's just not worth the time, effort and legal fees on your part in an attempt to try to get cash out of something that has none.

Additional:
I think this is the 2nd or 3rd post I've read in the last few days or so about injuries at school and/or daycare that seem to want to talk about suing.
Really - talking to a lawyer is the only way for any of them to find out for sure if they have a leg to stand on or not.

suing isn't always the answer. instead file a complaint and have the day care investigated. This will ensure a quick change in how things are done when an accident happen. I have too dealt with care takers who fail to report accidents with my son. Especially incidents where my son hit his head. My son has told me these incidents not the care taker or the school he was at. VERY frustrating.

we leave our child in their care and expect them to report if something is wrong. Even the littlest things. One may not seem important, where MOM may. Either way, a phone, for as silly as it may, is better then hearing nothing and finding out later. Heck, it could save a childs life when an issue doesn't appear right away, like head trauma! These caretakers are more about the $$$ then the care of the child. At least in my experience i have seen it.

I see it now where my son goes. Some caretakers are just RUDE to these children. Blows me away!!!! I worked for a large daycare and i cared for each and everyone as they were my VERY own. Every incident was told to the director. Sadly, major incidents were not told to the parents. Clearly she was in it for the $ not the care.

As others mentioned, leave immediately and seek reimbursement for ANY and ALL expenses you incurr. Even time off from work. This was clearly an incident that should of been dealt with immediately!!!

sorry :(

I think that the best thing you can do is talk to a lawyer. It could be that you have a case based on the fact that they didn't call you and get him to a doctor. It could be that you don't have a case because it was an accident. I don't know because I don't have a law degree.

The only way you'll know your rights are to talk to a lawyer. I would want one to make sure that they do indeed cover the costs you bear (deductible and copays) since you are looking for another center. It's just her word vs your word regarding her promise when you aren't bringing your child there anymore.

What are you trying to get by suing? Money? They've already said they would cover medical expenses not covered by insurance. Anything beyond that is greedy.

HOWEVER...I would not let it drop that they didn't call you. I would be reporting them to whatever agency licenses daycare facilities. Accidents happen, but they owe it to a parent to call ASAP when one happens. It doesn't sound like there would be any different medical treatment had they called you sooner, but an injured child needs his mama. They should have called. If I was the director, Assistant 1 would lose her job over this one.

The first thing is if they are neglectful, both children should be removed immediately. Forget the free fun money & field trips.

I wouldn't leave my other child with them if they injured one of them.

Should you sue. Well, I would make sure they are paying for all the out of pocket expenses. Then there was some pain and suffering due to their neglect. If it were truly 100% an accident, then I would say no. However, it wasn't and the director should know who she leaves the children with and what she is dealing with.

In the end, it will be your word against theirs, however, I good judge will get the information out of them. Assistant 2 is probably a very honest person and at the same time fearing for her job.

If you sue, it will teach the director of the childcare to be sure she leaves the preschool in the hands of a responsible adult. At the same time, it will save the next child from injury.

i would be calling what we call in texas, CCL, or child care licensing, like yesterday, ugh. that makes me so mad for you! i'd be LIVID, there's actually not even words for how i'd feel and probably you either. i'm so sorry.
when i checked out daycares prior to enrolling my son in one, the one "demerit" mine had was failure to report to CCL. I could see some of the details of the incident and it stated the director told the parent about an incident but failed to report it to the state, assuming the parent would, well it's the DIRECTOR'S responsibility to do so regardless of what parent does.
and you know what, i enrolled him anyway, and guess what....SEVERAL times my little one would have scratches, a friggin bite mark, etc on him and when asked...."oh yeah such and such happened"....okay, but he's THREE, you have to tell me these things! so they had a history of not reporting and in my situation continued to NOT REPORT. wth?! ugh!
anyway, he's since switched schools. i told the new one of my concerns of the other place & my expectations of them and they agreed and have been very upfront w/me. He's now 5, so yes, as they age/mature they can report more but 3 and under, i feel EVERYTHING needs to be told as much as possible, but especially what your little one went through. That's just heartbreaking. Of course things happen, we all know that, I know that's not even your point...just report it sweetie. Here's wishing your boy a speedy recovery and you some peace of mind and comfort. :)
take care....

Unfortunately children being hurt by going down a slide with someone else (something many of us do or did do) is a very common way children get hurt on slides.

I realize that accidents happen, but I would be most concerned with the way it was handled. My kid is hurt? Call me. I would take the director up on all bills. I would also insist on being released from any contract, without penalty. I would include lost wages for the time you have to take off work. I would get alllll of this in writing, all of the promises from the meeting and include your assessment of the situation. Hold them to that. I wouldn't want the free field trips or anything else other than the bills paid.

I would not sue, but I might report this incident to whoever oversees daycare licenses. They employ two people who either cannot stand up for themselves or otherwise cover up their actions to avoid being held accountable. I would not keep my kids there a day longer than necessary. I'd be calling in favors to avoid taking them back.

Every person who sees an accident, even the same one will have different versions of it.

I think they got totally scared and didn't know what to do. I think the one who said it was all in his head...well, she's not a doc and had no idea.

I would talk to an attorney but as you said, they were playing and he was being played with by the teachers. To me that says they are involved caring teachers. Not ones to sit on the bench and holler at the kids to stop doing something. That's a good thing in my book.

The fact that one teacher told them to not call is my issue with the whole thing. The teacher who was holding him knew he was hurt. BUT she may feel subordinate to the other teacher and didn't feel like she could go behind her back to call you.

It doesn't matter the exact time, that's what we all do, if someone asks you "what time did you get to Walmart this afternoon" we'd say something along the lines of "It was around 1 o'clock when in actuality it might have been 1:15 or 1:30. People estimate time all the time wrongly.

The whole thing boils down to this, they wrote the incident up, the one teacher should have gone directly to the person in charge, if that was the lady who said it's in his head was in charge then the staff person did their job. They don't have access to parents private information in most child care facilities. If they need to call a parent the office does it.

So, if you think you can get a big chunk of money out of them for his pain and suffering then go ahead. They have insurance for this. They've offered to pay his costs, that's a great thing.

I think you have to look inside yourself and do what you think is right.

I think it couldn't hurt just to talk to a lawyer and get sound legal advice. I have no idea what the process is but I believe it can be costly and time consuming and most likely not worth it to sue. Sure it was an accident. The biggest issue here is that the assistants knew your son was badly hurt (he couldn't even stand and was screaming in pain two hours after the incident!) and failed to contact you immediately. What if he hit his head and two hours later his brain was swelling?? And they didn't want to call you because they were scared? I know its not what happened but the fact that they tried to cover this up and downplay the events is scary for any other children that may be under their care. I would definitely report it to the state or whatever governing agency. Assistant 1 should not be working there anymore.

In the incident report they say your son was going down the slide and caught his leg behind him. Real story- he was going down on an adults lap and got leg caught. That is blatant omission of the facts. Perhaps they know they shouldn't go down the slide with a child on their lap. This is the exact same way my nephew broke his leg, riding down a slide on his aunts lap. He got a spiral fracture at age 2 and was in a cast. Because of this personal experience I have never taken my kids down a slide on my lap, I just stand guard to catch them if they fall.

I also would never take my kids back to that daycare even for two weeks. I know it might be your only option but I would take leave at work if I had to.

Good luck.