Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Robert Erben, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
What if my child is attacked or abused by a day care center owner employee volunteer? In Colorado and other States, parents rely on day care centers to provide supervision of children while parents are at work. It is vital that day care centers are staffed with caring and professional administrators, teachers, aides, and volunteers. Unfortunately, some owners and employees at day care centers are not well-trained and furthermore lack the patience, personality, and disposition to work with children. At times, some day care center owners and employees even resort to violence or threats of violence when faced with the challenges of caring for young children in the day care setting. Corporal punishment or the threat of corporate punishment at a day care center presents a real and present danger of harm to children enrolled in the day care center. When a child is harmed or threatened by day care center owner employee, there may be a civil cause of action or case to pursue against the day care center owner for your facility.
It should be noted that there are two potential cases that arise when there is violence, abuse, or the threat of violence against a child in a day care center. The day care center provider may face criminal charges. The sheriff’s office and prosecutor have the responsibility to investigate and prosecute crimes that take place in day care centers. Some cases are filed and some are not. It all depends on the facts and circumstances of the case. In criminal cases, the input of the victim and victim’s family are considered by law enforcement and the prosecutor in making the decision whether or not to prosecute the day care worker for the alleged crimes that took place in the day care center.
The other potential legal case that may exist is a civil case against the day care center provider, employee, and / or volunteer. A civil case is a private cause of action can be pursued individually by the parents of the child and or through the legal representation of a child injury lawyer. The civil case is evaluated based on the four basic elements:
1. Duty;
2. Breach of Duty;
3. Caustion; and
4. Damages
In cases involving violence or threats of violence there can be serious personal injuries sustained by the child. In other cases there are minor physical injuries. While the seriousness of the injuries is a factor considered by a Child Injury Lawyer in reviewing a civil case, the conduct of the employee may be so callous and reckless that a civil case may still be pursued even if the injuries are minor.
When a child is subjected to violence and threats of violence in a day care center, it is often helpful for the parents to consult with and retain the services of a child injury lawyer to represent the interests of the injured child. David Wolf is an attorney, author, and and child rights advocate who has devoted his entire career protecting and enforcing the rights of children including including those children enrolled in day care centers. The book titled – The ABCs of Child Injury – Legal Rights of the Injured Child – What Every Parent Should Know – was written by David Wolf. The book has chapters on Day Care Center Injuries, School Injuries, Medical Treatment / Medical Bills, and other topics. You can get this book for free at
The ABCs of Child Injury.
A recent story was reported regarding an incident that allegedly took place at a Denver, Colorado day care center. It is reported a childcare worker threatened a child with a knife at the daycare center, The case / incident is being investigated by local law enforcement. If the allegations are true, the child care worker could face criminal charges and a prison sentence. See Child Threatened by Day Care Center Work in Colorado.
The parents may have a civil cause of action to pursue against the individual and the daycare center. Unfortunately, many intentional acts are not covered by liability insurance. This does not mean that the case lacks merit. It only means that there may be an issue with the available insurance coverage to compensate the child and parents for the injuries are caused by the incident. Because of the complexity of these cases which involve issues of liability, damages, insurance coverage is often helpful for parents to retain the services of a child injury lawyer for advice consultation and legal representation.