Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Steven R. Smith, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In New York and other States, parents rely on family members, friends, neighbors, and others to serve as babysitters. While most babysitters are very caring individuals, there are some babysitters out there who lack the training, experience, personality, responsibility, and / or temperament to effectively serve, work, or volunteer as a babysitter. While it is often times helpful to do a background check on a babysitter, this is not always practical and many parents lack the funds or know how in conducting a background search on the babysitter. Some babysitters may have a clean criminal record but still present a danger to the child entrusted to the babysitter’s care. When the actions or inactions of a babysitter results in a the harm or injury to a child, there may be legal ramifications to the incident:
Angeles Westmorland, a teacher at a day care teacher in Paulding County, Georgia, was charged with battery after she allegedly bruised and scratched a 5-year-old boy all over his body.
An unfortunate incident recently took place at the University of Cincinnati (Ohio). It was reported that Everette Howard, an 18 year old student, died as a result of injuries sustained by a Taser gun used by campus police. It was reported that Everette was attempting to break up a fight at the time. It is expected that a full investigation will be completed and then be summarized in a written report since a death resulted from this incident. There appeared to be several witnesses to the incident. The use of force by a police officer is permitted under certain circumstances. In particular, if the health safety and welfare of the police office and / or others are put at risks – force is often times utilized. There are particular policies and procedures in place for each police department as to the use of force including the use of Taser guns. The incident will be reviewed to determine if protocols and criteria were met with respect to the facts and circumstances of this incident.
A 4-year-old boy from New Bedford, Massachusetts was beaten so badly that the mere sight of the child brought tears to a hospital nurse. Police have arrested and charged the the mother’s boyfriend for the horrific beating of the child. 31-year-old Elvis Garcia has been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Officials stated the little boy’s body was covered in bruises and cuts and had dried blood in his ear. Detective Alberto B. Silva described the crime committed against the victim to the New Bedford Times as “heinous.” 33-year-old Sandra Augusto, the child’s mother, was also arrested and charged with substantial injury to a child and and reckless endangerment to a child under 18; she is accused of allowing the abuse to happen. For more see 
A 32-year-old director of an Austin, Texas, day care center has been indicted on a capital murder charge. Christina Suzanne Lyons was charged after a 10-week-old child left in her care died. The Hays County (Texas) Grand Jury returned the count against Lyons; the indictment accuses her of intentionally causing blunt force trauma to the infant’s head on November 18, 2010. Sherri Tibbe, Hays County District Attorney, told a local paper that her office will not seek the death penalty, meaning Lyons could face a life sentence without parole if convicted. For more see 
A day care center has been shut down and its owner arrested in Omaha, Nebraska. Sandra Johnson, also known as Sandra Minor, was arrested for felony child abuse. An emergency order was issued to Johnson (Minor), which immediately suspended her license as a child care provider and, ultimately, shut down her day care center. The emergency order was issued after police were called to Creighton University Medical Center. After the officers arrived, hospital staff advised them that an 11-month-old was being treated for a broken arm. Police then talked with the child’s mother who told police that she believed the incident could have happened at her child’s day care center.
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 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.