Articles Posted in Abuse & Neglect

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Parents rely on day care centers to provide a safe environment for their children during the workday.  In most instances, a child is cared for by a trained individual who has the best interests of the child in mind. Unfortunately, far too many children are injured a day care centers when a staff member is untrained or lacks the patience / maturity to provide stable and nurturing care and supervision to child.  It is well known that children will misbehave especially infants and toddlers. Certainly, it is part of the job of a day care worker to deal with behavioral issues in a calm and safe manner.  When patience is lost, day care workers can and do inflict harm upon a child through careless acts and in some instances through purposeful criminal actions.

There are over 14 million children in a form of day care each day. Parents enroll their children in a day care program under the assumption that their children will be safely cared for while they are away. Day care cewnters have a legal duty to provide proper supervision and protection against injury. So, when the way a day care negligent acts results in a child getting hurt, the parent of the injured child may be able to bring a legal action on behalf of the injured child to seek out compensation for medical bills, pain, and suffering.  Negligence cases are dealt with in civil court, where parents can sue day care centers for financial compensation. Through a civil case or claim, a parent may be able to obtain compensation on behalf of the injured child.  Furthermore, a parent can be reimbursed for medical bills that the parent owes as guardian / financially responsible person for the injured child.

Many day care centers require parents to sign a liability waiver.  It should be noted that most States disfavor liability waivers when children are involved.  Otherwise, this would give a day care center a license of sorts to be negligent and put a child in harm’s way without repercussions.  Parents should be wary of day care centers that require the signing of a waiver that attempts to shield a day care center from negligent acts causing personal injury.

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Calendar-300x295The statute of limitations is the time period by which a party or victim needs to take legal action to enforce rights and / or seek financial compensation for the negligence or intentional harm caused by a person, business, and / or government entity.  These time limits are proscribed or set by the legislation in statutes / laws.  The time period for a particular case will depend on the state where the incident took place, the type of action brought, and the parties involved.  Over the years, legislatures have broadened the time limits by which a victim can bring forth a case based on the sexual abuse of the victim.

The statute of limitation in sexual abuse cases has always been a topic of discussion amongst the law community as it is very impactful on the amount of cases received by firms. The topic is also sensitive when understanding the physical and emotional trauma that may impede an individual from filing a lawsuit within a set amount of time after the incident. As time has gone on and many states have become more progressive and understanding of the victim’s position in sexual abuse cases, we have seen a positive trend in the expansion of statutes of limitations in these cases. Just recently, both New York and New Jersey passed laws affecting their statute of limitations. What’s interesting is that they both went about this in different ways. Having realized that many cases of sexual abuse involving a child had been swept under the rug, New York passed the Child Victims Act (CVA) which repeals the statute of limitations on these cases for a period of a year and raises the age limit to 28 in criminal cases and 55 in civil suits . The one-year grace period for cases outside of the statutes of limitations led to 439 cases being filed on just its first day enacted. New Jersey’s approach was to raise the statutes of limitations age to 55 for all child abuse cases or within 7 years of the victim’s realization that the abuse caused harm. The most recent example of a state that is expanding its statute of limitations involving sexual crimes is Texas. Effective September 1st, the statute of limitations has been doubled from 15 to 30 for personal injury claims related to sexual assault.

What is important about the changes being made in these states is that it sends a message to survivors of these heinous crimes that legislators are listening and that they are not going unheard. These changes encourage more people to report actions that may be considered sexual assault/abuse and gives less reasons as to why it should be brushed under the rug. With cases like Jeffrey Epstein’s reaching national media coverage, more and more states are becoming aware that they need to stand up for victims of sexual abuse. As 2019 continues, keep an eye out for more states to follow in the footsteps of New York, New Jersey, and Texas.

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In Michigan and other states, parents rely on day care center to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment during the workday. Whether a child attends an in-home day care center or a commercial day care center, it is important that the child is supervised by a caring and patient adult. Unfortunately, far too many day care workers are not well suited by education, temperament, or maturity to watch young children. It is a well-known fact that infants will cry and toddlers will misbehave. If children were perfect angels who never cried and never misbehaved, there would almost be no need for a day care center. For most children, a day care center is a haven of safety in an otherwise busy world. For others, unfortunately, and in far too many cases, tragically, a day care center is the site of a serious personal injury in the form of head injury, brain damage, skull fracture, shaken baby syndrome, and related injuries.

A recent case of alleged child abuse at a home day care center in northern Michigan demonstrates the reality of these types of tragedies. It was reported that the owner of a home day care shook a seven-month-old baby in her care to the point that the baby stopped breathing. When a child is shaken, the brain can be damaged.  This mechanical / medical condition is simply referred to as shaken baby syndrome.  However simple the name, the brain damage resulting from shaken baby syndrome can have permanent affects on a child and the family caring for that child. Permanent brain damage can result after mere seconds of violent shaking by an adult or older child because of the sensitivity of infants’ softer skulls and developing brains. In the case out of Michigan, reports indicate the shaking of the baby ultimately fractured the infant’s skull, which t did not result in loss of life for the infant, but did result in long-term health consequences.

According to the New York Department of Health, one to three thousand children suffer from shaken baby syndrome each year. A quarter of those children die, and approximately eighty percent of the surviving children suffer from permanent brain damage or other lasting health complications. Injuries of this nature remain completely preventable. The New York Department of Health suggests that when caring for a child that will not stop crying, caregivers lay the child down in safe place, such as a crib or play pen, and take a break, so that they do not burn out and harm the child. See Preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome. 

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By David A. Wolf, Attorney – Child Injury Lawyer Blog
Day Care Video Surveillance.001When a child is injured at a day care center, it can at times be a mystery as to how and why the child was injured.  This is especially true when a day care center work lies or hides acts of abuse, neglect, and corporal punishment.  Video surveillance, at times, captures the very acts of abuse or neglect inflicted by the very same day care center providers who have the legal duty to protect, support, education, and care for the child.  Most states prohibit any kind of corporal punishment and criminalize the acts.  As such, if a day care center work strikes a child, criminal charges can be brought against the day care center work; however, it should be noted that the criminal prosecution of a day care center worker caught on video hitting a child is not automatic.
Each incident or case is evaluated by the local law enforcement and the prosecutor’s office to determine if a crime was committed and if enough evidence can be presented to successfully prosecute the day care center worker.  If bad acts are caught on video, many people may assume that the day care center work is going to jail or prison; however, no assumptions or presumptions should be made on any particular case as to criminal prosecution.  Furthermore, it should be noted that the pursuit of a civil case is also something that needs further review by the parents and a Child Injury Lawyer as to the elements of the case and the practicality of pursuing the case.  The elements of a civil case or claim for day care center negligence, harm, assault, or corporal punishment are as follows:
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By David A. Wolf, Attorney
Child Injury Lawyer Blog
Kids Wooden Blocks Falling As Symbol For Education And Learning
In Oklahoma and other states, hard working parents rely on day care centers for the proper supervision and education of their children.   With both single parents and dual income parents, day care centers have become a necessity in order for parents to support their children.  Most day care centers do a fine job in caring for children in a loving and nurturing way; however, there are far too many child care providers out there who lack the maturity, patience, responsibility, and common sense to serve as a proper day care provider.  While it should be well known out there that shaking a baby, infant, or toddler can cause serious permanent injuries, there continues to be incidents reported that children have been injured by forceful shaking, corporal punishment, and / or the hitting of a child.  This, in turn, caused serious head and brain injuries to child who was supposed to be cared for rather than harmed in the day care center setting and environment.
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By David A. Wolf
Child Injury Lawyer Blog
Justice Red White and BlueWorking parents do their best to support the family.  In doing so, working families need the services of day care centers.  Most day care centers are well run by caring individuals.  However, there are many day care incidents and wrongful death incidents out there that do and should cause concern for all working parents which children enrolled in a day care center.  When a child dies, there are in many instances more questions than answers and sensible explanations for the death of the child.  It should be made clear that an infant and toddler at a day care center need supervision at all times including sleep and nap time.  When a child mysteriously dies at a day care center, there is typically an investigation by local law enforcement and the social service agency that licenses day care centers.  An autopsy should be performed to help determine the cause and preventability of the death of the child.
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By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Blog

ChildAbuse-IconDavidBusy working parents rely upon day care centers, child care centers, and summer camps to provide a safe learning environment for children. On most days for most children, there is excellent education, supervision, and care.  Unfortunately, for far too many children, a day care center, child care center, or summer camp is the site of a abuse, neglect, and molestation of a child.  It is tragic when a child is subject to abuse or neglect in the very environment where the child should be protected.  When a child is abused or neglected in a day care center, the parent of the child can pursue a civil case or claim against the day care center, the day care center worker, and others who may be liable or at-fault for the injuries caused to the child.  It should be noted that a civil case is quite different than a criminal case or an administrative case against the day care center work and owner.  A civil case can be brought assuming that a parent can establish the following four elements against the Defendant as follows:
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By David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Blog

Building Block - M - Day Care CenterIn Connecticut and other States, day care centers, schools, and summer camps should be safe havens for children. Unfortunately, at these very locations, children are subject to abuse, neglect, and corporal punishment. Let’s face it. Children, at times, will misbehave and fail to follow instructions. However, this is no reason for hitting or striking a child in a day care, school, or summer camp setting. In fact, there are no good reasons to justify the abuse, neglect, corporal punishment, or exploitation of a child. When a child is abused or neglected in a child care setting, there may be one or more legal proceedings that result from the alleged bad conduct of the day care provider. There may be an arrest or criminal prosecution in the form a criminal case. There may be a fine levied against the day care center or a suspension of the license in the form of an administrative procedure. There may also be a civil case or claim against the individual day care center provider and / or business for the injuries / damages suffered by the child. It should be noted that the pursuit of any one of the three types of cases are not dependent on each other. For instance, a civil case or claim can be pursued even if there are no criminal charges filed.

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By David Wolf, Attorney and Samantha Vloedman, Law Clerk

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Blog

Illustration of lady statue of libery facing front holding weighing scales of justice and sword set inside crest shield on isolated white background.

When a child is being cared for at a day care center, school, summer camp, or other person / entity, a parent should be able to rely on the good nature of people and organizations that the child will be cared for in a nurturing manner by adults who really promote the best interests of their child. Unfortunately, people in trust like child care providers, babysitters, and even family members use these unique opportunities to abuse, neglect, and molest the very children under their care.

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By David Wolf, Attorney

book-abcChild care providers should provide each and every child with a safe environment.  There is a duty to provide reasonable and necessary supervision.  While a day care center owner is not liable for every injury that takes place, it can be held liable for those injuries that result from the negligence or carelessness of the day care center provider.  It is vital that a day care center provider not only provide reasonable and necessary supervision but it is also important to provide prompt care and follow up when an injury or condition is observed by the day care center.   Unfortunately, many day care center providers attempt to “sweep or hide an injury under the rug” and fail to inform the parents of the injury so that timely and necessary medical care can be provided to the injured child.
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