Articles Posted in Day Camps / Summer Camps

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Building-Blocks-300x271When selecting a day care center for a child, there are many options in most communities.  A parent can go with a national chain, a local commercial day care center, or an in-home day care center.  There are also day care centers that are part of schools, non-profit community centers, and churches.  While a day care center license is far from a guarantee that a child will never be harmed, a day care center license does subject the facility to oversight, rules, and regulations.  In addition, liability insurance is required as part of many licensing requirements and / or government programs that provide benefits for children enrolled in a day care center.  When a child is enrolled in an unlicensed – off the grid day care center, there may be a number of safety risks associated with the day care center.

Licensed day care facilities are held to higher standards than those that are unlicensed. Employees are required to take safety tests and learn CPR, which can be the difference between life and death in emergency situations. Licensed day cares are also subject to regular inspections from health or safety boards, so they are likely to be safer environments for children. Unlicensed day care facilities fall under no such scrutiny. Their buildings could be unsafe or unclean, their food could be unhealthy, and they could avoid immunization and handwashing procedures meant to stop the spread of diseases. Most importantly, the staff at an unlicensed day care center could be inadequately trained, and there could be too few staff members to properly watch over all the children in their care. Licensed day care centers are clearly the safer option, so why are some parents still choosing to bring their children to unlicensed day cares?

Part of the issue is simply ignorance. Popular day care search website Care.com advertises unlicensed day care centers the same as licensed ones, so some parents will unwittingly send their children to one. Prompted by an increase in infant deaths, the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office requested that Care.com “stop deceptive childcare providers” from advertising. Five infants died in unlicensed Tennessee day care centers in 2018, so it only makes sense that the DA would want to put an end to them. Parents looking for day care centers for their children should do research to see if the facility is licensed and safe. They can also report any unlicensed day care center they find.

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Video-Surveillance-in-Child-CareIn day care centers across the nation, there are countless acts of abuse and neglect. Some get swept under the rug and never get reported. Children enrolled in a child care center often is an easy target because of age, the inability to defend himself or herself, and the lack of communication skills to alert parents and other adults of the abuse.  Being a child care provider is not easy task.  It requires a person who is alert, physically able, and patient.  Unfortunately, far too many day care centers are run or staffed with unqualified and downright abusive people.

There are plenty of excellent day care centers that do not have video surveillance. On the “wish list” of things to have in a day care center, it is at times helpful to have video surveillance in place.  There are a number of benefits to having video surveillance in place as follows:

Video surveillance is another “set of eyes” supervising the care provided to the children.

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Campground-300x239Parents enroll children in the Boy Scouts to learn life lessons.  For most scout members, activities are filled with fun and meaningful times. At times, scouts are subject to abuse and neglect by the very adults / scout masters who are supposed to supervise and protect the scouts.

While the Boy Scouts of America is intended to foster the growth and development of your child there is always the possibility that injuries are sustained. Just recently in Nassau County Florida, there was a case wherein a scout master was arrested for assaulting one of the children in the program. After the mother reached out to the BSA, the BSA released a statement denouncing the scout master’s actions and assuring the public that due to their mandatory reporting policy, their children’s safety remained a priority of the organization. So, what happens in the case of your child being injured during a Boy Scouts of America event? The BSA provides comprehensive general liability insurance for cases where a child may be injured. This provides coverage to scouts in any case involving negligent actions of a third party resulting in personal injury or property damage. The BSA also offers coverage for accidents and sickness, offering medical reimbursement I case of death, accident, or sickness within the policy’s amounts (www.scouting.org/health-and-safety).

As mentioned earlier, the BSA has a mandatory reporting policy, but what are the resources offered in order to handle serious cases. On their website, the BSA offers reports for both incidents and near miss situations. The BSA asks that these reports are completed immediately after the occurrence of the incident in order to get as many facts down as possible. Risk management bases these policies off of the facts provided in the initial incident report, so they stress the importance of including evidence and details of what took place. While this may not prevent every scenario, the BSA attempts to expand its safety policies in accordance to the reports they receive.

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ABC-Blocks-300x290In Arkansas and other states, parents rely upon day care centers to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment during the workday. For those who choose to own a day care center or work in one, it is important that safety needs of all the children, especially infants and toddlers, are met. Unfortunately for far too many children, injuries and incidents take place that are otherwise avoidable and preventable. In particular, injuries and incidents tend to take place when older children are permitted to play in an area occupied by much younger children. For instance, a 10 year old who has issues with hyperactivity and space issues should not be placed in the same room with an infant or toddler. Most states have rules and regulations in place regarding staff-to-child ratios and the proper supervision and separation of children by age in the day care setting.

Despite these requirements, injuries to children in day care centers still occur. As recently reported in the news of Arkansas, bite injuries are an example of potential harm that can come to children in day care. According to Mayo Clinic, human bite injuries can be even more dangerous than animal bites because of the differing strains of bacteria and viruses contained in human mouths. Correspondingly, children who sustain these types of injuries should seek medical attention because a tetanus shot may be necessary or an infection may arise. See Mayo Clinic – Risks of Infection – Human Bites. Therefore, biting is a potentially serious problem and should be avoided through consistent supervision and the following of the applicable rules and standards for day care centers.

With this in mind, a day care may be liable for a bite injury sustained by a child in its care. Though a day care center is not the absolute insurer of a child’s safety, day cares do owe their charges a duty of reasonable care. This means that day care centers should take reasonable precautions to safeguard the children in their care. Because biting is a common behavior in children, day care centers should take reasonable precautions to prevent it. For example, in the situation out of Arkansas, it was reported that caregivers laid down a 10-month-old baby for tummy time when an older child bit him. Reports also indicate that the older child was not supposed to be in that area and was known to bite. While it would probably be unreasonable to expect that the day care provide one to one supervision for every child, it would likely be reasonable to expect that the day care follow procedures about separating age groups, especially with a child with a known history of biting.

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Toys-on-Shelf-297x300When a child is enrolled in a school, day care center, summer camp or other program, it is important that the child be supervised in a safe environment.  While a typical toy does not at first glance appear to be a dangerous object, the wrong toy in the hands or within the reach of a child can lead to serious personal injuries and even the death of the child.

It is important for all child care providers be aware of the risks and dangers of toys.  Furthermore, the child care provider should be on alert and pay attention any time that a child is playing with a toy. Many personal injuries can be avoided with consistent supervision and common sense on the part of child care providers.

Toys Needs to be Age Appropriate.  Small children including those under the age of 5 years old tend to put small pieces or toys into their mouths.  This can present a significant choking hazard to a child.  If a toy has small pieces or is susceptible to being pulled apart into small pieces, there can be a choking hazard to a small child.

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Toy-Blocks-E-A-300x226Parents rely upon day care centers to provide for a safe and supporting educational environment during the work day. A day care center has a duty to provide reasonable and necessary care and supersion to the children. At times, a day care center can do everything right yet a child is injured at the day care center. It should be noted that a day care center is not an absolute insurer for the safety of the children under the care of or enrolled at the day care center. In other words, just because there is an injury or incident – this does not mean that the day care center is liable. One type of Incident which is commonly reported in the news throughout the nation involves a vehicle that crashes into a day care center. If a day care center is located off of a commercial street or even a residential street, a car accident (single or multiple) can result in the vehicle crashing into the day care center. It is difficult to plan for or prevent vehicles from crashing into a day care center. As stated, a day care center must act reasonably. It may be cost prohibitive to erect a wall or concrete barrier around an entire day care center. If multiple incidents of crashes have taken place, then these circumstances may put the burden or duty on the day care center to erect some barriers around the day care center or move children from the risky part of the day care center to another part of the day care center.

Certainly, a driver or owner of a vehicle may be liable for crashing into a day care center if it can be established the the driver was negligent or careless in the operation of the motor vehicle. Automobile insurance can provide compensation to children if the injuries resulted from an automobile accident even though the children were not occupying a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the injured children may also qualify for benefits or coverage under a parent’s automobile insurance policy even though the parent’s motor vehicle was not involved in the automobile accident.

It can be a bit complicated and confusing when a child is injured as a result of the negligence of another person, business, or government entity. As such, a parent of an injured child should seek out advice, guidance, and when appropriate legal representation from an experienced Child Injury Lawyer. It is important to know the laws and procedures as to insurance, compensation, and damages.

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By David Wolf, Child Injury Lawyer
Crib-and-Nap-Time-Day-Care-Center-276x300Parents rely on day care centers to provide a safe educational environment for their children. Tragically, children suffer serious personal injuries and even fatal injuries at the very place where the children are supposed to be protected – the day care center.  At times, other children in the day care center are violent and unstable.  It is important that day care centers closely monitor all children in the day care center. If a child is exhibiting strange, dangerous, or disturbing behavior, it should be addressed right away.  For the protection and safety of the children enrolled in the day care center, a child, with dangerous tendencies or propensities, can and should be removed from the day care center.  The local licensing agency can also step in if there is a problem with the parents of the “problem child”.  It is vital that the day care center act in a timely manner to prevent injuries at all times possible.  Unfortunately, many day care centers ignore the problem or gloss over the problem rather than take action to protect the children in the day care center.
In Michigan, it was reported that a 14 month old toddler died a day care center by an 8 year old girl with a history of odd behavior.  The toddler (Korey Brown) was crying in his crib.  Then, the 8 year old took him out of the crib, bit him in the face, and kicked the toddler.  The 8 year old girl had a number of issues.  It is suspected by the family of Korey Brown that the day care center knew or should have known about the odd behavior and should have taken action to protect Korey Brown.   At the time of the attack, there were no adults present in the room.  As such, it appears that the 8 year old was left unsupervised in a room with younger children in the room including Korey Brown. You can read more about this story at Girl Kills Toddler at Michigan Day Care Center. 
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By David Wolf – Child Injury Lawyer
Building-Blocks-300x170In day care centers across the nation, parents rely on child care workers to provide a safe and nurturing educational environment for children.  For most children, the day is filled with activities, classes, and all around excellent care.  However, at some facilities, children are unfortunately the victim of abuse, neglect, and molestation.  Some child care workers just lack the training, experience, common sense, and patience to properly supervise children.  The local and state day care regulations should be followed.  Beyond the rules and regulation, common sense can go a long way in the proper care of infants, toddlers, and young children.
In most States, corporal punishment is outlawed or banned in day care centers.  Some day care workers still implement corporal punishment measures to supervise and / or punish children under their care.  Corporal punishment is typically refers to some form of physical punishment, assault, or restraint of a child.  It should be noted that many religious based day care centers are exempt from local and state day care regulations.  As such, corporal punishment tends to be utilized on a regular basis in some exempt facilities.  It should also be noted that if a child is injured as a result of corporal punishment to the point the marks are left or medical care is required – there can still be action taken against the day care center even if the day care center is exempt from the applicable child care rules and regulations.
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By David Wolf, Child Injury Lawyer
Playground-300x188In Oregon and other States, there are dangers in day care centers. Certainly, having a license is a good “sign” for a day care center. That means that the day care center has complied (in most cases) with the State’s minimum mandatory requirements and otherwise has acted in a manner that has enabled the day care center to maintain its license and ability to operate as a facility in good standing.  However, it should be noted that a day care center license does not mean that a day care center is an absolutely safe haven for a child enrolled in the program.  The truth of the matter is that day care centers and its employees have an ongoing duty and responsibility to provide constant and reasonable supervision of the children under the care of the day care center.
It was recently reported by Oregon media sources that there are dangers in Oregon day care centers.  There were a number of examples noted in the article including a day care center that allowed an autistic child to walk out of facility and into the potential harm of traffic, another day care center that allowed a young child to play on a climbing wall with a lanyard on the child both of which presented a significant risks of handling, a fall, and asphyxiation.  There are other examples mentioned in the article as well.  You can read more about the dangers in Oregon day care centers along with comments about the regulations that have become somewhat stagnant at Dangers and Risks of Personal Injuries in Oregon Day Care Centers. 
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By David Wolf, Child Injury Lawyer

Day-Care-Playground-300x233Day care centers are commonly used by a families in need of child care due to work or personal commitments.  There are millions of single parent households and dual income households which necessitate the use of day care centers / child care centers to supervise children during the work day.  When a parent or guardian checks their child in to a day care center, they are putting their trust in a facility that should be trustworthy. The day care should be providing an environment which is safe and comforting for the parent, consisting of abundant supervision. It is reasonable for parents and guardians to expect that a day care center will provide a safe, loving, and educational environment for their children.  Personal injuries result from carelessness, negligence, and just a lack of common sense in many instances in day care centers.  Furthermore, some injuries result from intentional acts and let’s face it – just the shear stupidity of some child care providers who, at times, put their own interests ahead of those of the children.   In New Jersey, it was reported that two day care workers were encouraged and filmed a  Fight Club type of activity with the children enrolled in the day care center. Certainly, it is careless and reckless to encourage children to fight at a day care center or any other school or summer camp.

There are four elements that must be established for a strong claim against a day care center:

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