By David Wolf, Attorney Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In the United States, most day child care facilities are legally required by law to be licensed. The Child Care Licensing Program in South Carolina enforces laws and regulations established by the State Legislature to ensure that child care facilities provide the basic health and safety requirements for all children in their care.
Despite these licensing requirements, a day care facility in York County was operating without a license. This discovery became apparent when a baby under the care of Kristyn Shipman Edley, 26 died. Edley was arrested and booked at the York County Detention Center. The arrest was for licensing only.
In Star County, Texas a two-year-old girl suffered burn injuries when her parents left her unattended in a bath tub. Her mother, Carolyn Garza has been charged with injury to a child by omission. Her husband, the toddler’s stepfather, Jesus Alberto Lerma has also been charged for negligence. The toddler was taken to San Antonio Hospital and treated for burns. She has since been placed in the care of another family member. The parents claim it was an accident and blame a faulty water heater.
In Kansas City, Missouri and in every community in the United States, there is one common dangerous place in most homes and apartments – the bathtub. Unfortunately and tragically, children continue to be victims of drownings in bathtubs. Just a few moments of inattention or lack of supervision can have deadly consequences. It is vital that a smal child be supervised at all times while in the bathtub – don’t take that phone call and don’t multi-task by cooking and doing other activities while a child is bathing in a bathtub. In addition, never leave water in an unattended bathtub before or after a child’s bath time. In Kansas City, Missouri, police are investigating the death of a toddler – 18 month old Jermane Johnson, Jr. At the time of the incident, Jermane was staying with relatives. It was reported that a 16 year old (mentally handicapped) was babysitting the children on the day of the incident but was sleeping at the time that that the drowning incident took place. It is suspected by police officials that another child (5 years old) may have drowned the toddler because the toddler was crying too much. Due to the age of the 5 year old and the circumstance involved in the incident, it is uncertain how the case will be handled. Since the 5 year old is so young, it would be difficult to prove that she understood the magnitude and seriousness of her actions. See 
In one year alone, over one million children will become victims of some sort of child abuse and neglect in this country. An abused child is generally considered to be: “a child whose physical or mental health is harmed or threatened with harm, or by the acts of omission of a person responsible for his/her welfare.”
In Trenton, New Jersey, a 12 year old boy suffered a leg injury when he was hit by a city bus according to local police officials. It was reported that there was a bicycle with a damages wheel at the scene of the accident. Firefighters and ambulance personnel responded to the scene to evaluate and treat the injuries sustained by the boy. Busy streets and intersections are often the sites of serious automobile, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents in Trenton, New Jersey and other cites. Whenever there is a bicyclist or pedestrian in an area (especially children) drivers should drive extremely careful so as to avoid hitting the bicyclist or pedestrian. Children often times do not recognize the danger of an intersection and sometimes cross outside of a sidewalk or against the instructions of street signs and / or traffic light indicators. The details provided by the Trenton, New Jersey news article were very broad. The police report and investigation would probably have additional details as to the cause and preventability of the accident. See
Parents naturally have many fears when it comes to their children. But, possibly the worst nightmare a parent can have is finding out that their child has been abused while in the care of someone else.
In Shoreview, Minnesota, a horrific incident took place at a chiropractor’s office. A mother, Amy Elizabeth Newton, from Moundsview, Minnesota, was strapped to a table for treatment at the chiropractor’s office. She was in the room with her 18 mother old child. While the mother was strapped or restrained, the 18 month old boy crawled under the chiropractor table and then unknowingly hit a button the brought the chiropractor table down on him and crushed him. All the mother was able to do was scream in horror to try to summon staff for help. While CPR was administered, the personal injuries suffered by the child including head trauma ended the life of this young boy.
The number of victims of child sexual abuse and molestation grows each year. According to the U.S. Justice Department, roughly 32% of girls and 14% of boys are molested before the age of 18. In addition, nearly 2/3 of all sexual assaults reported involved minors and roughly 1/3 involved children under the age of 12. In most cases, child molestation goes unreported. Estimates are that only 35% of sexual abuse is reported. The reason may be because kids are frightened or embarrassed to say anything.
Minnesota day care centers are regulated by the Minnesota Administrative Code Rule 9502.0355 as the code pertains to Supervision, Behavior Guidance, and Corporal Punishment. A simple but important question is as follows: