Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By John Jensen, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In Concord, North Carolina, an accident was reported outside the Rocky River Elementary School. The automobile accident involves a school bus and a day care center bus. The day care center bus driver will be charged with failure to yield. The children on the day care center bus were being transported with or for The Sunshine House Day Care Center. When transporting children, it is vital that school bus drivers and day care center bus / van drivers obey traffic signals, speed limits, and road signs. It is important that the driver stay alert and limit any distractions including loud radios, cell phone use, and text messaging. While it is impossible to prevent all accidents from taking place, it is possible to prevent many accidents by driving safe and following this simple advice. You can read more about this story at North Carolina School Bus – Day Care Center Bus Collide in Concord North Carolina.
In Norfolk, Virginia, a church day care director was arrested and is being prosecuted for the death of a 7 week old child (Dylan Cummings) who died while under the care of Little Eagles Day Care Center which is a day care center affiliated with Bethel Temple Church of Deliverance. The director and another employee are being charged with child neglect. Attorneys for the day care director and the employee report that the Defendants cared for the child in a nursery and truly cared for and loved the child enrolled in the day care center. Prosecutors paint a different picture of a day care center that did not follow regulations and that placed children in a crib in a windowless closet. It is expected that the case will focus, in part, on medical issues involving the cause and preventability of the child’s death. It was reported that Dylan died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The prosecutor will argue that the child was unsupervised for 2 1/2 hours and that he was allowed to sleep on his stomach which puts an infant at risk for 
Day care operators and employees have a duty to properly supervise the children under their care. At times, children hurt each other and without consistent and timely intervention – serious injuries can occur. A disturbing incident took place at the Kidology Day Care in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Video surveillance recorded a 3 year old attacking an 11 month year old girl. The baby suffered injuries from the 3 year old biting her and punching her. The case is being investigated by law enforcement and child care licensing officials.
In Kansas, a former Johnson County Kansas day care operator was sentenced to a 41 month prison term for the tragic death of an 18 month girl that was under her care. The prison term resulted from the conviction of charged of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated child endangerment, and operating a day care center with too many children. Ava Patrick was the victim who died when her neck got stuck in a wooden fence of the day care center operated by Lawrence. The attorney for Ms. Lawrence argued that the death resulted as a result of an accident and not from reckless conduct. See 
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, two day care employees have been criminally charged regarding an incident in which a boy was left alone in a day care center van. The child was left alone in the van for over 7 hours. It was reported that the boy was 5 years old at the time of the incident. The boy was transported to Kreative Kids Child Development Center. The boy fell asleep on the bus and nobody involved with the transportation or the day care center took any action to account for or check the bus for the child for 7 hours. Even though the van was equipped with an alarm to check for children when the day care van / bus was turned off, the boy still went unnoticed on the van for an extended time period (7 hours). You can read more about this story at 
In Rock Hill, South Carolina, the death of a 6 week old child in a crowded Rock Hill day care center made news recently. As expected, an autopsy was performed in order to determine the cause of death. According to the medical examiner, the child died as a result of positional asphyxiation. This medical term refers to medical complication caused when a person’s position prevents the person from breathing adequately. See 
A family of Fort Bend County, Texas, Jose, Lindsay and their daughter Gracie Galarza, is still suffering from tremendous stress and grief years after their child was allegedly abused by a worker at the child’s home daycare facility. The little girl, who is now two-and-a-half-years-old, was 9-months-old at the time of the incident. Jennifer Sides, the worker at the home daycare center, was charged with injury to a child. Deputies say Sides caused severe personal injuries to the toddler’s head as a result from being shaken. The Galarzas said Gracie had to be hooked up to machines due to the severe extent of her personal injuries to her head. Gracie sustained bleeding and swelling to her brain, as well as experienced bleeding behind her eyes. After doctros examined the nature and extent of Gracie’s personal injuries, the doctors informed the Galarzas the injuries were the result of the toddler being shaken. In fact, the doctors told the parents it was more than an accident, it was child abuse.
A 38-year-old woman of Lufkin, Texas, has been sentenced to 15 years probation after accepting a plea deal and pleading guilty to injury of a child and unlawful restraint. However, some people may not be satisfied with Kathy Butler Taylor’s sentence because of the nature of child abuse she allegedly inflicted onto three different people. Taylor was accused of using an extension cord and tape to abuse children. One child told investigators that Taylor would bind her hands, feet and mouth with tape. After being bound, Taylor would then beat her with an extension cord. If you would like to read more on this story please see