Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
n Nebraska and other States, parents entrust the safety and education of children to day care centers. Often times, a working parent have no other choice but to rely on day care centers while the parent earns a living to support the family. Day care centers can also be a great place to socialize and educate the child prior to Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten. Nebraska day care centers have a both a legal and moral duty under the law to properly supervise and protect children enrolled in the program. Unfortunately and tragically in some instances, day care centers breach this duty. Shaken Baby Syndrome is caused when a child is shaken or otherwise suffers physical trauma can cause serious injuries to a small child’s brain.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it was reported that a 5 year old boy enrolled in a Milwaukee day care center was left in a van for 9 hours. There are dangers in leaving a child in a van. If the incident takes place during hot weather, the child is at risk for hyperthermia. If the incident takes place during cold weather, there is a risk of hypothermia. No matter the weather, there are also other risks when leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. These risks include those related to strangulation and choking. In addition, if a child is left unattended in a vehicle, there is also a risk of abduction and risk of injury if the child wanders away into traffic or or into other dangerous situations.
A woman of Huntington, West Virginia, was arrested on a charge of child neglect resulting in injury. The arrest came after a 10-month-old child was allegedly struck in the face at a day care center. The woman was identified as Pamela Faye Taylor, 63. The incident occurred sometime in October and involved a child who had a red mark on his face in the shape of a hand and a bruise on his forehead. It is believed that the toddler sustained his injuries at Pam’s Kids Daycare in Huntington. Taylor will be entitled to legal representation by a West Virginia criminal defense attorney or public defender. If you would like to read more on this story please see 
A woman of an unlicensed day care in Yacolt, Washington, was arrested after she was found passed out in her minivan with two children inside. The woman was identified as Sheia Mikolos, 45. According to authorities Mikolos was drunk and passed out behind the wheel. Along with the two children inside the minivan were empty and half-empty cans of beer. Mikolos was arrested on two counts of Reckless Endangerment. The children were inspected by medics then turned over to Child Protective Services, they were later returned to their parents. Mikolos is entitled to representation by a Washington criminal law attorney or a public defender. To read more on this story please see 
A former director of an Oregon, Wisconsin day care center was recently charged with three counts of child abuse and one count of suffocation for allegedly abusing children in her care. Heather M. Hook, 34, of Madison, Wisconsin, was director of the Foxboro Child Care Center. According to the criminal complaint, Hook allegedly tried to force a 15-month-girl to drink her milk and after the child refused, Hook allegedly shoved the toddler’s face in a pile of pillows. The girl’s mother told police she noticed bruises on her child’s body, that included a possible bruise to the child’s head and broken blood vessels on her side. Another mother also told authorities she noticed bruises on her 10-month-old son that were not present the day before. A Foxboro worker informed police of an incident where Hook grabbed the 10-month-old boy and carried him like a ball to an area after the boy was playing near a slide he was not suppose to be. The boy’s bruises were examined by Dr. Barbara Knox, a child abuse expert at UW Children’s Hospital, and described them as abusive in nature.
Bobby Maurice Tillman tragically died from injuries related to a senseless beating that took place near a home where a party was being held. The Douglas County County Coroner reported that Bobby died as a result of a lacerated heart that was directly related to the beating injuries. It was reported that Bobby was attacked by four individuals. Standing at only 5 Feet 6 Inches tall and only weighing 125 pounds, Bobby had no way to defend himself from these criminal and viscous acts of others.
Irene Martin, a 37-year-old woman and day care provider, made her first appearance in Hendricks County Court after she was charged with child abuse. Martin was formally charged with 3 felonies of battery and neglect of a child due to an incident that happened at her home, which she runs at a day care.
In Texas and other States, children, especially those with special needs like autistic children, should get supervision and care from responsible and patient adults who provide day care, child care, or babysitting services. In Texas, a baby sitter was in the midst of a criminal trial when he decided to plead guilty of child abuse charges. The incident involved the scalding / burning of a an autistic child that was under her care.
A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed by Samster, Konkel & Safran, S.C., a Milwaukee law firm, on behalf of the father of a five month old child who was drowned by his mentally ill mother after a Wisconsin social services agency, working with the State of Wisconsin and the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, left the child in the care of his mother for an unsupervised visit. After making the initial decision to remove the child from the mother’s care four months earlier, due to concerns with her mental health history, emotional instability and threats of violence, the agencies involved then failed to monitor the mother’s medication compliance and mental stability before choosing to allow for the unsupervised visit. In October, 2007, shortly after leaving the child in the mother’s care, the mother put the child in the bathtub, left him alone, and came back later to find him floating lifeless. She then removed the child, dressed him, and called her mental health social worker to report that something was wrong with the child. The police and emergency medical care providers responded, but the child could not be revived. After claiming that “I gave my baby to God,” the mother was charged criminally, she was convicted, and she is now serving a fifteen-year prison term for second-degree reckless homicide. Earlier, the Judge assigned to the child’s case left the decision on any unsupervised visits between the mother and the child to be “at the discretion of the bureau.” The lawsuit alleges that the agencies involved failed to adequately train, supervise and discipline its workers, including the workers in this case, leading to the tragic result.
Elouise Wade-Meria Taylor, a 51-year-old woman and and Aiken County, South Carolina day care owner, has been charged with homicide by child abuse. Taylor is accused of shaking a 16-month-old toddler in her care so hard that the toddler sustained fatal head trauma. The alleged incident occurred on August 5, 2010. The child’s identity has not been released. It was reported that a neighbor of Taylor, Shirnell Bryant, says Taylor has cared for children at her home day care center for years and has never witnessed anything out of the ordinary. Taylor will be entitled to a criminal defense attorney. If you would like to read more on this story please see