Articles Posted in State Specific Articles

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By  David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

Handcuffs - Criminal - Child AbuseIn Washington and other States, parents rely on day care center to provide a safe, clean, and healthy environment for their children during working hours.  Parents, with children in day care centers, should visit frequently and at odd times.  In other words, a parent should visit at different times of the day in order to see how the staff is supervising the children under their care.  The staff in the morning may be different than the staff in the afternoon.  Furthermore, if the day care center staff believes that a parent could walk in at any moment of the day, this may, in turn, make the day care center staff more attentive to the duties and responsibilities at hand.   For most children, day care centers, schools, and summer camps provide that certain educational environment that certainly contributes to the growth and happiness of a child.   Unfortunately, some child care providers use their position of trust and access to abuse and neglect the very children that they are responsible for supervising and protecting from harm.   Certainly, the good child care providers outnumber the bad ones; however, one bad child care provider who abused and neglects children is frankly one too many.  Day care centers should carefully screen all day care center employees with background checks that are not only completed by an electronic search but also follow up calls to work and personal references.  Once hired, day care center employees should be trained and supervised.
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By Jeremy Vishno, Attorney and  David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

medical_110006043-011314intIn Connecticut and other States, children enjoy running around and playing with friends during recess and free play.  Unfortunately for some children, recess or free play is the site of a serious personal injury.  As a Child Injury Lawyer, I am often asked to evaluate and handle cases involving injuries at schools, day care center, and summer camps.  Some of these injuries take place at recess or free play on the playground or another part of the facility or program.  Commonly, a parent has two concerns about these cases:
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By  Steven R. Smith, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

New York City StreetIn New York and other States, parents rely on day care centers and the transportation provided by day care centers during working hours.  It is essential that day care centers carry out these responsibilities with due care and caution. It is well known that children (especially children under the age of 5 years old) lack safety awareness and good judgment. Because of this, it is vital that the child care providers and day care staff members follow applicable rules and regulations and otherwise perform their duties with a sense of professionalism and due diligence.  Finally, there is something that every day care center staff members should have from the lowest level employee to the administrator / owner – common sense.  While there are many rules and regulations, it is impossible for these day care center rules and regulations to cover every incident that could take place at a day care center. As such, the concepts of reasonableness, due diligence, and common sense should all come into play during the care, supervision, and transportation of children.
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First Aid KitBy  Andrew Baker, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

In Ohio and other States, day care centers have a duty to properly staff and supervise children under the care of the day care center.  When corners are cut and rules are violated, children can and do get hurt. Many such personal injuries sustained by children at a day care center are avoidable.  At any given day care center, there are dangers for small children.   Even a mop bucket can be dangerous to a small child.  Yes, that’s right, a small child could drown in full mop bucket when there are no caregivers around to properly protect the child.  There are also electrical hazards to children.   There are many reports in which a child wanders out of a facility and into a nearby street or parking lot. This could have fatal consequences.  Again, many such incidents take place due to staff and supervision issues.   A watchful eye, common sense, due diligence, and a sense of caring can go a long way to providing for the health, safety, and welfare of children in the day care setting.

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 By Scott Zahler, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

Day Care Center VanWhen a day care center, summer camp, or school transports small children, it is important that the child care providers make sure that all children exit the vehicle.  This is quite a simple but an important statement or rule to follow.  Unfortunately, some day care center employees get distracted OR simply do not perform the required tasks of the job.  As a result, children are at times left behind on day care center vans and buses.   In the swelter of a hot summer month, just a few minutes can spell the difference between life and death.   Certainly, a child’s rights are violated if the child is left unatttended on a school bus or day care center van for any length of time.  As a Child Injury Lawyer, I am often asked the following question:
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 By David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

School Bus - BlueSummer is a wonderful time for children to explore, to be active, and to get some further education.  For working parents, summer time is just another 3 months of work.  As such, working parents rely upon day care centers and summer camps to provide for the care and safety of their children.   There are serious risks and dangers that present themselves during summer.  Namely, there are risks of serious personal injuries and even death when a child is left in a school bus or day care center van for even just a few minutes.  There should be no such thing as running a quick errand as a child remains in a school bus or day care center van unattended without any air conditioning.   Furthermore, there should be no such thing or story of a child mistakenly left on a school bus or van in the summer or any other time of the year.  With the heat of summer, there are greater risks for hyperthermia which, in turn, can cause serious personal injuries and even the death of a young child.   Tragically, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, it appears that a child died as a result of hyperthermia as a result of being left in a day care center vehicle.  It was reported that the 22 month old child was left in the vehicle for about 2 hours or so.   A day care center employee was asked to lie to the local authorities as to the situation and circumstances where the child was found.  While the day care center operator had experience working with children, her license had expired.   You can read more about this horrible event at – 22 Month Old Child Dies After Being Left in Day Care Center Vehicle. 
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School Bus - BlueBy David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

In the State of Washington and other States, schools and day care centers transport our most precious and important passengers – our children. In doing so, the school and day care center drivers have a legal responsibility to drive in a safe manner, obey traffic regulations and signs, and otherwise use their best efforts and judgment to get the children from one place to another.  One of the easiest tasks is the responsibility to make sure that all children are removed from the bus at the appropriate stop and certainly by the end of the run.   While this is a somewhat simple task, it is one that is commonly overlooked by day care center / school bus drivers and attendants.  It certainly requires more that merely checking the rear view mirror or completing a quick glance towards the back of the van or bus.  A school bus driver should conduct a visible sweep of the school bus. In other words, a school bus driver should safety park the bus and then get out of his or her seat and walk from the front of the bus or van and look in every seat and aisle all the way to the back and make sure that all children are removed from the bus.  It is also a good way to see if any children left any items on the bus like book bags, books, lunches, sports equipment, mobile phones, etc.  It is also a good idea to conduct a visible sweep two times for good measure.  If there is both a school bus driver and an attendant, then it is recommended by some school and child safety experts that each person (the school bus driver and the attendant) conduct the visible sweep of the bus.

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Kids Number Block As Symbol For Numeracy Or CountingBy David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

Here is a simple but important question:  Should day care centers provide constant care and supervision during sleep time or nap time?  The answer to this question is Absolutely Yes!   That’s right the answer has an exclamation point at the end because it is so important that child care centers and day care centers have trained staff in place that recognize the risk and dangers during nap time and sleep time for infants and toddlers.   Without any child of child care training, one would think that the safest place for a child or a baby is in a crib during sleep time.  The truth is that many children every year suffer personal injuries and even die during sleep or nap time due to inadequate supervision, improper sleep position, and the presence of blankets, stuffed animals and other soft objects left in the crib or sleeping area.

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