A few days ago my 4 yr old daughter was injured at daycare. She has been attending this center for almost a year now, but the center was recently bought out by another center, and new management took over. I went to pick my children up from the center, and upon arrival immediately heard my daughter screaming upstairs in her classroom. When I walked in the teacher (one I had never seen before) was standing by a bookcase watching my daughter writhe in pain on the floor, screaming at the top of her lungs. I asked what had happened and she told me she didn't know. I tried to get her to get up, but she wouldn't let me touch her or move her. She was holding her left leg, and sobbing, obviously in much pain. After asking the other kids in the room, I was told that she had been knocked over by another child and had landed on her leg. As I was trying to talk to her and get her to tell me where it hurt, the sub-director (the actual director/owner was out of town on vacation) came in and told me that an incident had occurred earlier that day. Apparently her teacher had taken her toy away (brought from home) and put it in her cubby. The teacher was helping another child when my child attempted to get her toy out of the cubby, causing the entire thing to fall on her. The cubbies are about six feet long, a foot tall, and about 18 inches deep; they are made out of wood and hang on the wall. They also have coat hanger hooks on the bottom. They claim they picked it up, and helped her, checking her body for any damage. They claim that she was fine, and continued playing like normal. No signs of pain or problems. After hearing this, and seeing how my daughter was acting, I knew immediately that she had been injured by this accident, that had happened approx 4 hours before my arrival!! I immediately took her to the emergency room, and had her looked at.
Luckily, nothing is broken, but she did have a muscle contusion, which had damaged the muscle in her thigh all the way to the soft tissue. We were sent home with pain medication, and instructions to have her relax. Two days later she is still having pain and troubles walking, and has since acquired bruising on her thigh, arm, and back. I am removing her from the daycare, since this is not the first incident that has made me unhappy, though she has never been injured. I want to know what rights I have in order to be sure that they pay for the medical bills, and possibly even wages lost, though it is not much, for missing work. Has anyone had a similar situation, and how was it resolved?
**Update** To answer a few questions, I am not saying she was screaming in pain for 4 hours, but that it was obvious that being knocked down by another child was not the main cause for the pain. She has 2 older siblings, and is a resilient kid, so being knocked down and screaming like that is not something that is normal for her. She would not let anyone touch her (also not normal), wouldn't let me pick her up, and had tears streaming down her face. (She may be a girl, but she doesn't come to tears very often) And I am sorry, but a severe bruise from the incident is still a problem, and it should not have happened! The bruising was all the way down through the muscle and soft tissue, and is severely painful for her. That is my biggest concern.
This was my first posting on this forum, and was a little surprised to find the amount of mothers who blame my child. "She shouldn't have brought toys from home" "She shouldn't have climbed on the cubby"... Well, my daycare allows things from home for comfort for the children. She brings one toy, or a book, and then a blanket for nap time. This has always been allowed. The cubbies are meant to be accessible for the children, but my daughter is about 3 inches shorter than the average 4 yr old, and so she has a hard time reaching the top of her cubby. I also was told that the toy was taken away so they could each lunch, and she was finished with her lunch. My daughter did nothing wrong, except failing to ask her teacher for help. I have addressed that with her, and have made obvious the dangers of every day situations that seem safe but can go wrong.
I am not going to sue the daycare, so long as they follow their insurance procedure. I have contacted a lawyer, but only for a consultation on the grounds that the insurance denies the claim, and we need to follow through with suite against the insurance agency, not the center. I spoke with the owner of the center about this procedure, and we are beginning the process on Monday. (she is still out of town for the holiday) My daughter's bruising is much better now, and she is fine to run and play. The new center she is attending is much smaller, was state recommended and has floor cubbies. It is also only a block from my home, and all of the attending children live within our neighborhood.
Nothing like this has ever happened to any of my kids in PDO or preschool...and they let them get pretty rambunctious where they go.
If you want the school to pay medical bills...you may want to talk with a lawyer. Do you know any that would talk through this with you before you decide what to do?
Wow, my thoughts are so different than the other responses but here it goes... I am confused. You said you got there and she was screaming in pain and the other kids told you another child landed on her. Why then do you think that the incident from earlier in the day was responsible for her screaming at the time of your arrival? It does not seem likely that the daycare would allow a child to scream in pain for 4 hours w/out calling you nor does it seem likely that a muscle contusion/ bruise would cause intense pain for 4 hours. I am not saying she would not be sore for even a week or two after having that cubicle fall on her but I don't think she would be in screaming pain 4 hours later.
If your daughter had a broken bone or some other substantial injury you probably would have a case but with a bruise (even a deep one) I am not sure you are entitled to anything. If I wore in your shoes I probably would not have rushed to the emergency room. However maybe I do not know the whole story . Did an ambulance need to transport your daughter to the hospital? What did your daughter tell you happened?
I would also call CPS, get an incident report, as required by the state. I would also ask them how they'd like to handle your medical bills. They should have notified you when it happened & followed emergency care procedure policy (I'm assuming they have one as required by the state of MN). I hope that you find a safe & trusting environment for your daughter to have care in. I have my 4 year old in a Lutheran pre-school, it is smaller than a center, and he receives great care & it is less expensive than a normal pre-school/day care.
In addition to what others have said about reporting the daycare and contacting a lawyer:
PHOTOGRAPH her bruises. Also, bruises that deep can cause major problems (I'm assuming the ER told you to follow up with her pediatrician), including but not limited to:
- muscular damage (torn, dead, detached)
- tendon or ligament damage
- blood clots
- nerve damage
As a matter of fact, soft tissue damage is often MUCH worse than a broken bone... and take far longer to heal. Months instead of the 6 weeks a fracture takes... and will often require surgery to fix / reattach damaged tissue.
Soft tissue injuries can be very serious and have long term side effects. People (especially children and the elderly) often go into shock following a major injury. They'll be walking/talking and not feeling a thing. That's why caregivers for both children and the elderly will ignore "claims to be fine" and insist on them being checked out medically after keeping them under their own close observation. None of which happened at this daycare. Thank god she doesn't have organ damage... but her ped will probably run a blood panel to test for liver and kidney function.
She'll probably be fine... but there's a durn good reason why licensing is required... in part so that childcare providers understand the basics of bodily injury and can seek appropriate treatment.
You can contact the licensing board. If you still have the forms from when you first registered, you should have a copy of the licensing board info. If not, a quick Google search for your county offices should help you locate the appropriate contact. The fact that the bookcase wasn't bolted to the wall is likely a violation.
However, first place to start is with whomever is in charge. Ask about reimbursement and then progress things with the licensing board as needed.
Good luck! That sounds like a serious situation and you're smart to get her out of there. There are too many excellent daycare providers out there to settle for a place that doesn't keep your child safe.
Check your contract with them. Did you waive liability unless neglectful?
Had they written a report of the incident before you arrived? Why didn't they call you. You need fact before you can proceed.
call a lawyer or a lawyer advocate, they should tell you how to get this investigated and steps you need to take,
Just contact the center and tell them you want to make a claim with their insurance to have them cover medical cost. They should give you a form, you fill it out and they sumit it to the insurance company. The insurance company will then contact you and take care of your medical bills. SOme insurances will also take care of lost wages if you can prove you had to stay at home because your daughter was NOT ABLE to go to day care because of the injury and NEEDED 1:1 care during this period. Hope that helps. Good luck!
I am so sorry this had to happen to your daughter. I am upset with the fact that a set of cubbies fell over on your daughter and no one thought to call you? Thats totally inappropriate. Second, your daughter may very well of got up and played again. This does NOT mean she wasnt hurt. Many variables could have made her get up and go about her business. Shame, embarrassment, being yelled at, afraid of getting into trouble etc. She is 4 yrs old and cannot be held responsible for this. A teacher cant watch every child every second but there are certain things a teacher should watch for and that is to make sure no one is climbing on anything not meant to be climbed on. So this means taking a good look around the room, constant counting of children so that if you dont see one child you can quickly look for them and catch them if they are climbing or getting into harms way. That is what teachers are paid for. Yes, accidents happen but that does NOT take away the blame. The center IS responsible and it IS a terrible accident. I would make sure you have pictures and documentation of the hospital and or doctors visits. If she still has visible bruising take more pictures and date them. Take this to an attorney who works with accident victims.
I would also contact child protection and have this centers licensor notified. There is either too many children or not adequate supervision.
This upsets me so much, especially reading some of the posts. A 4 yr old should never be expected to care for themselves thats why they are at daycare. Your a good mom and followed your gut! Good job! Please dont let this go, follow it to the end and see to it that no other child gets injured at this place.
As a licensed childcare facility I am required to provide a safe and secure environment for all my child to play in. As for incident procedures...I am also required by law to report and document all injuries to protect the children, staff and the center. Most importantly the parents are to be notified as soon as the child has been checked over for injuries so the parents and the teachers can work together to continue to provide for the child.
It does not seem that any of these procedures were followed and that gives you cause to be angry. All I can say is wow, I agree that this situation was handled very badly. If I was in your shoes, I would contact the Dept of Human Services and ask for the Childcare Licensing Representative for your area. I am not sure how it works in UT, but in CO all licensed childcare facilities are required by law to post contact information for parents to report all problems with that or any other facilities. If you are not comfortable going back to the center you can just Google it. I would suggest that you talk to the licensing rep before you call CPS as this is what the licensing division was made for.
As for the posts that would like to lay some or all of the blame at your daughters feet for climbing or at your feet for allowing her to take the toy in the first place...
All I can say is really? Of course your daughter should not have been climbing the shelf, but if she was responsible enough to make all the correct decisions she would not need daycare. If the center did not want or allow the personal toy they should have addressed it at the start of the day while the parent was there to participate in the discussion. I agree the teachers are only human and they cannot be expected to watch every child every second and so accidents will happen, but these are all very common issues and the center should have had policies in effect to address them much more effectively.
I wish you luck and I am sorry for your situation.
I have mixed feelings on this. No 4 year old child should be climbing on a cabinet. And yet, the cabinets should be secured to a wall. They should have called before hand. But it's quite possible if they didn't strip her clothes they didn't know how badly bruised she was.
I think you need to realize that your daughter shares in the blame and be grateful she didn't break anything. I assume you have insurance. This is part of being a parent. It's not like they neglected her, let her run like a banshee and just let it happen. She climbed, she pulled something herself. It happens. Did you check to see the cabinets were secured to the wall? She's your child. You should have checked or asked about it.
I would press charges, it obviously needs to be investigated for abusing children and neglect if the situation happened 4 hours prior and they neither did anything to help nor called you to pick her up. How ridiculous! I would absolutely sue them, and I am NOT a sue happy mom.
Definately call and file a report with Social Services as others have suggested. There is no excuse the center could give for a piece of equipment that big falling off the wall on to your child no matter if she was trying to climb or pull up on it (I don't know if this is the case or not...I'm making an assumption).
My little guy, when he was about 9 - 10 months old, had a very small accident of falling off a shelf about 4 inches high and hit his head (he was creeping on the shelf). The center he was at called me about 15 minutes after the incident to inform me. He had a tiny bump/bruise and was a little clingy afterward. Really it wasn't a big deal BUT the people/management were very dilligent about informing the parents about things like this.
Good luck and keep us all posted on your progress!
Did they fill out an incident report and have you sign it? If not this could be a case of he said she said if they deny the child was injured there. Did you get a copy of the accident report? IF not, ask for one before you withdraw your child from care.
It is very obvious that they were going to overlook mentioning the incident to you because it involved a bookcase that was possibly not installed correctly. It sounds like they were hoping because she went and played after the incident that she was ok and they could brush the accident under the carpet so to speak. My daughters daycare is very informative when incidents occur and although they are rare it happens. I understand that. My daughter fell off a piece of play equipment (she was fine) but I was called and given an accident report upon arrival. I would demand a report if they haven't given you one. Based on the fact that there are other things about the daycare you are unhappy with you should start looking somewhere else. To me if my daughter were screaming in pain and the teacher was not concerned enough to find out why or comfort her that would be a huge red flag for me. Keep us updated.
<------Ex preschool teacher
Report this facility TODAY, why were you not called hen this first happened Was an accident report filed, was the Ins.co notified? And DO NOT take your children back. I do in home care, I call the parents for ANY accident right away no matter how minor.youhave a right to make any medical decissions s not some Daycare Director. Is there a person with medical background on staff?
An incident like this REQUIRES the daycare to fill out an incident form and contact the parent as soon as possible. I've been on both sides (parent and teacher), and I know that the form has to be filled out by the teacher in charge and any other adults who witnessed it, and signed by all and the parent. Did they not ask you to look at/read/sign anything?
Ask for a copy of the incident report (they should have given you one, but...) If they don't have one, that's a major issue. Either way, I would get the law involved. I'm sorry, I really don't remember who to contact. Maybe you could start by calling your local school district offices, they may be able to direct you to the right place. To be short, the fact that they did basically nothing, didn't call or notify you or have an incident report (even if she was "fine") are ground for possible loss of licensure, especially if there are any other reports on this place.
I'm so sorry you and your daughter had to go through this! But by not letting it slide, you can prevent it from happening to another child at the center.
Okay, here is my opinion.... I think the whole idea of suing the daycare is ridiculous. I agree it was an accident, partly caused by your daughters actions. She is 4 and should know better than to climb on something that wasn't meant to be climbed on. I am sure they have a policy of NOT bringing toys from home and that is why the toy was taken and put in her cubby. YES, the cubby should have been secured to the wall and you should have been notified as soon as it happened. I am sure they checked her out, any bruising likely wouldn't have happened immediately, so they should have checked her again in a few hours. Maybe she was playing fine and wasn't showing any other signs of injury, it could have been the kid who pushed her down that caused her to be in pain again. The teacher that was in the room was not familiar to you and perhaps not your daughter, maybe your daughter screamed for her to get away or maybe she had just come into the room when the other teacher went looking for help. How do you know the director wasn't going to tell you about the incident but your daughter was obviously upset and she knew your priority was to calm her down first. There are so many variables and "what if's" to this, which is why I think suing is uncalled for. You didn't say what the other issues have been and you are well within your rights to take your children out. You said your daughter was screaming, what were your other children doing there? Did they hear her screaming? They are older so perhaps they know a bit about happened. Did they hear the cubby fall or their sister crying/screaming? You should report this incident to the licensing dept for sure, but this sounds like an accident that cannot totally be blamed on the daycare and I think you are taking it a step too far. Sit down with the director/owner and all teachers involved, read the accident report (get it if you haven't already) and see if they offer you anything, if the cubby has been secured to the wall, and really get their side of the story, also talk with your older children about what they heard.
To clarify something, I am not saying your daughter should be punished BUT the toy was taken away likely per center rules and put in her cubby for safe keeping until the end of the day. She should not have been climbing to get it, which is why I think this is an accident and you should only be taking appropriate steps to have it resolved.
I'm sorry other moms attacked you. I don't know how they could do that. I would absolutley go after them. They neglected your daughter and neglected calling you immediately. I hope you get it all worked out! :)
Pull her out. Not to sound condescending,, but do you want to leave your
two year old in that type of situation where she cannot defend herself,
or explain what is going on?
I have popped in on these daycares, and see so much sadness, tears,
confusion. You have to search high and low for the good ones....
What I always ask people, Is...would you leave a million dollars in the street, daycare, etc?....Your child is worth more than a million dollars/there is no price for their safety and security.
Just my opinion :-)
chances are they have insurance to cover the med bills. Just call and ask them how they would like to handle it. They will either be happy to oblige you or you will be able to tell if you have to sue for whatever your personal insurance doesnt cover.
My SIL's daughter was at a "really good" daycare. They dislocated her babies shoulder. They did not tell her until she picked her up either.
I am sorry that this happened to your daughter. I hope that she feels better soon.
I would say you are making the right decision to remove her from this daycare. If you have not paid for services rendered yet I would withhold any payments from them. I would demand compensation for medical expenses not covered by insurance (i.e copays and prescriptions). I think asking for lost wages is not appropriate. This injury could have been from the cubby or from the child that knocked her down and there is not proof how it happened, only speculation. Remove her, don't pay them another penny, and demand money to cover your out-of-pocket medical bills not covered by insurance, then just move on.
They should have every secured to the walls! Odd that they didn't. I would think that, that in itself would be good for a lawsuit! Also with an injury like that I would think that there would have been something to be seen by the naked eye!! They should have called you at work. I know a lot of should haves here! I hope that you are able to sue and get some of the bills paid and that they will update their staff and secure their fixtures so that this doesn't happen to another child.
I agree the incident should have been brought to your attention as soon as it had happened. They obviously should have been able to tell if she was limping, acting injured, and in pain during the 4 hour interval. So my first thought was if she was acting fine during the time between the shelf falling and the push did the push do the actual damage. But truth be told it probably hit that forming bruise and really hurt. I am so sorry she had this happen. Hope she's better soon.
They absolutely did not handle the injury incorrectly. They should have liability insurance to cover the bills and you can also call your local licensing agency and file a report of possible neglect.
Utah licensing agency site
http://health.utah.gov/licensing/
How to file a complaint
http://health.utah.gov/licensing/complaintinfo.htm
I can't answer your question, but just wanted to say I'm sorry that happened to you and your child. That sounds horrible and painful. Always stick with your mommy instints. Hope your lil one is feeling better!
Glad to here you pulled her out. My son is a rough and tumble little boy and at his pre-school if he even gets a scrape on his knee they present me with a written accident report and have me sign it saying I was informed of the injury and any treatment(bandaid) they needed to apply. Not being told when you picked her up is awful considering internal injuries can be life threatning. I think you need to make sure you get a written accident report from the school. I would also suggest that they seccure the cubby unit to the wall before another child gets seriously injured.
Wow...what in the heck? Wasn't anyone watching her? And why didn't they call you? It doesn't matter if she seems fine..something like that should be reported to the parents...I can't believe they are that casual about a child getting injured.
If you want my honest opinion: if I were in your shoes I would sue. Obviously it's hard watching your daughter get hurt by a situation that wasn't prevented by people you though you could trust (please don't take that to mean that this is in any way your fault). But even more so, your daughter is supposed to feel safe there. And so are the other kids. At the very least those parents need to be informed so they can know what is going on.
But honestly, I would do what I could to get that center checked out and possibly shut down. It might seem a bit extreme, but your daughter could have been injured far worse.
I hope she is feeling better soon.
call cps I cant answer your other question but this sounds fishy
