DAYCARE ABUSE & NEGLECT

What You Must do to Protect Your Child who is the Victim of Daycare Abuse or Neglect

Child abuse or neglect is a very sensitive issue. It causes great pain for both the child victim and the parents who must share this ordeal with them while they seek justice for their harmed child. Parents or any legal guardian who even suspect their child might be the victim of any sort of physical or emotional abuse or neglect by a daycare worker are right to feel outraged. Though their anger may seem boundless, it is very important to think clearly and proceed carefully. If one of your minor children whom you entrust to a daycare worker, foster parent, or institutional caregiver is the victim of neglect or even worse sexual or physical abuse, not only must you deal with your child’s terrifying experience, you must curb your emotions that surround this reprehensible crime committed against your child. It is common to want to lash out or quickly jump to incorrect conclusions. This is the first of many reasons why, if your child has suffered physical, emotional, or sexual abuse while in someone else’s care, a daycare abuse attorney with our Law Office can counsel and assist you in investigating your suspicions. If your fears are justified, this legal professional will help you seek justice from predatory caregivers who victimize and harm children.

Child abuse can occur in several forms. It can involve neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, less dire but just as harmful as emotional mistreatment or other acts that harm children physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Over the years, national trends reveal consistent increases in the number of such cases reported, and also the number of civil liability and other damage-related lawsuits that are filed against those who neglect or abuse young children. Throughout America, at least five children die daily due to child abuse. Well over 20,000 children in the U.S. suffer every day from some form of abuse. There are at least a quarter million active child abuse cases investigated every year. Across the nation, child neglect makes up about half of the reported abuse cases; physical abuse is found in 15-20% of child abuse offenses, sexual abuse occurs about 10-15% of the time, while emotional and other less-destructive forms of child abuse comprise the rest of the reported complaints. This is truly disturbing. It strengthens the fact that every responsible adult must report suspected child abuse to law officials and the state agencies charged with investigating these destructive and predatory crimes. Small children can’t defend themselves from this monstrous behavior. So we must!

While daycare abuse incidents create attention-grabbing headlines, Texas agencies and law enforcement officials tell us that daycare-related abuse, foster parent abuse, and institutional abuse probably don’t comprise more than 10 percent of confirmed child abuse cases. So even though daycare abuse tends to be often over-amplified by media sensationalization, the actually confirmed episodes of “daycare or institutional child abuse” is smaller in proportion to the overall problem. When your child is the victim of such abuse or neglect it’s hard to find comfort when the percentages suggest your victimized child is the exception rather than the rule.

Recognizing Evidence of Possible Child Daycare Abuse in Your Child
If you suspect your child is the victim of abuse while at the daycare center, you can probably see subtle changes in behavior if you look carefully. Usually, a parent’s instincts and intuition will tell them, if their child suddenly begins to act differently. Sometimes those signs can be subtle and hard to pin down because, as all parents know, children, especially the very young ones, often have difficulty expressing their emotions or saying exactly what is happening inside their little minds. One thing is certain. Abused children often appear confused and afraid, especially when placed in situations, or with people, they don’t trust. Since children by nature are usually very trusting, quite often because they have no experience with abusive behavior, they don’t sense it is wrong. They may have been made to think if they tell you about their abuse, something even worse will happen to them or someone else in the family. There are many reasons why your child’s continuing ordeal of abuse at the hands of a daycare or other childcare professional can remain hidden and force your little one to suffer in silence. Below are some behavior patterns to look for in your child. They can provide clues that might tell you if he or she suffers abuse by someone who is supposedly a trusted childcare professional.

Any of these signs may characterize physical abuse:
If there are unexplained bruises or swollen areas on your child’s body.
There is evidence of unexplained injuries such as burns, cuts, scratches, or fractures.
They cry, fight, or display other aggressive behavior.
There are noticeable mood swings.
They display an abnormal fear of daycare.
There is an aversion to normal child-like activities or play.
They complain of pain but show an inability or reluctance to fully or truthfully describe how it happened.

Sexual abuse may be apparent due to any of these signs:
Difficulty sitting or walking.
Torn or stained underclothes.
Bleeding, bruises, or rashes in or near the genital area.
Sudden development of urinary tract or yeast infections.
An abnormal interest in sexual issues.
Inappropriate sexual playing anytime the child is with friends.
Fear of even innocent physical contact.

Emotional abuse may be apparent if you detect any of these signs in your child:
Speech disorders.
Delays in normal development.
Severe allergies, asthma, or ulcers.
The sudden appearance of habitual behavior, such as thumb-sucking, rocking back and forth, or aggression, such as biting.
Anti-social or hyper-aggressive behavior.
An inability to sleep or some other form of sleep disorder.
Pronounced extremes in the behavior, possibly even manic episodes such as quickly moving back and forth between passive to aggressive actions.

Signs that your child may be neglected at a daycare center may include the following:
A daycare that discourages unscheduled parent or guardian visitations.
Dirty diapers or dirty appearance.
Understaffing or a disproportionately small number of daycare supervisors to children.
Abnormal thirst or hunger after your child leaves daycare.
Withdrawal from normal children’s activities.
Aggressive behavior.

Just because you might suddenly see one or two such symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean there is abuse. Little children are changelings, and behavior you see one week might be gone the next. But if you see several symptoms listed above, take them seriously after a reasonable observation period. Maybe it’s time to investigate if something is wrong and why quietly.

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DAYCARE ABUSE & NEGLECT

If You Suspect Daycare Abuse, Don’t Panic: but Carefully Search for Answers

If you suspect your child is a victim of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse at a daycare center, you should quietly visit with your spouse or partner. Compare notes. Determine if your child is behaving unusually or acting differently than normal, especially immediately before or after the little one is at daycare. If you remain suspicious, the next step is to gently reach out to other parents with children at the same daycare center. Ask if they also have similar concerns or suspicions. They might also notice subtle changes in their children’s behavior too. If you reach a collective consensus that something might be wrong, don’t immediately conclude that a daycare worker is responsible. Sometimes the unusual behavior might be attributed to a bully at the center. Carefully conferring with other parents may help you identify this as the reason for children’s altered behavior and build a support system if something is amiss. Comparing notes with other concerned parents could help decide your future course of action. Typically, the signs of physical and sexual abuse are more apparent than those of emotional abuse or neglect. But emotional abuse or child neglect can leave deep and lasting emotional scars.

One way to monitor a child’s emotional health or behavioral changes in daycare is to pay meticulous attention to the words and expressions they use to describe their time there. Daily routine conversations about how things are going at the daycare facility can tell you a lot. So let your children know that you are interested and put them at ease when talking about it. If there is something wrong, if you and your child “visit about their daycare day” every day, they’re more liable to tell you if something is wrong and maybe why. Sometimes you must read their actions and listen to their words. You’ll get the story, if there is one, by encouraging them in an easygoing, conversational, and interested manner. If they are reluctant to talk about their daycare experiences or become sad or fearful when they do talk about them, your concerns might be genuine. If your child is consistently exhibiting any of the signs previously described or shows symptoms of child abuse or child neglect, and you are satisfied that the problem is a daycare worker, contact your local police or county sheriff at once, or contact the nearest office of the Child Protective Services Division of the Texas Department of Human Resources. Calling a daycare abuse attorney is also good.

All educators and adults who supervise children for a living know Texas law requires that if they even remotely suspect that child abuse may have occurred, they must immediately contact CPS. Incidents of suspected child abuse that may require immediate action can be reported to the CPS toll-free abuse hotline at 1-800-252-5400 any time of the day, seven days a week. If the abuse has caused an emergency, they must contact local law enforcement (911) without delay. But if an emergency response is unnecessary, the CPS online reporting system on the Web () may be used. Allegations of child abuse sent through the CPS Web site can take up to 24 hours to process and generate a response. The next step is to seek medical attention for your child quickly. Your primary doctor should know the symptoms (both physical and emotional) to look for in cases of child abuse and will conduct a thorough examination of your child to determine whether or not daycare child abuse exists fully. If you need assistance finding proper medical attention, Grossman Law Office’s daycare abuse attorneys can help you find appropriate medical or psychological help for your child. Once you’ve notified the proper authorities, sought medical attention for your child, and still have reason to believe that your child has suffered daycare abuse and has not yet contacted a civil attorney, it’s time for that appropriate step. Law enforcement and the Texas CPS take child abuse allegations very seriously. If such allegations are made, a criminal investigation will be conducted to determine the validity of the charge. With the help of a knowledgeable daycare abuse lawyer, this emotionally difficult time can be much more manageable. It’s a blessing to have an experienced daycare abuse lawyer stand with you at this critical time to ensure your and your child’s rights are fully protected. Any daycare child abuse or neglect charge must be carefully considered before initiating any formal investigation. Improper, ill-founded, or reckless allegations against those suspected of child abuse that prove false can severely damage a good worker’s reputation. The parents who leveled such allegations run a genuine risk of being the target of civil slander or liable charges in court by the accused person; once he or she is forgiven. Any investigation must begin very quietly so that everyone gets things 100 percent right and that the daycare worker who is investigated is the one who abused your child. Our Law Office’s daycare abuse attorneys can help you understand why you must carefully approach this issue and investigate very quietly.

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DAYCARE ABUSE & NEGLECT

The Differences between Child Neglect and Child Abuse“

“Duty of care” is a legal term that establishes the obligations a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit has for others. Daycare centers have a rather high duty of care. So they must prove they have made “over and above” efforts to assure the safety of the small children within whom parents have placed their trust to provide for a child’s safety. A daycare worker and the center can become the target of civil litigation through a charge of general negligence if they fail to meet their duty of care. Negligent hiring practices may violate that duty of care if it is proven that the daycare center did not perform due diligence in vetting an employee before they came to work. In cases where the negligence or abuse is ongoing, a fair argument for gross or willful negligence may be more appropriate, even if gross negligence is harder to prove in Texas personal injury cases. Another claim of negligent supervision may be brought even if a child suffers an injury due to an adult becoming distracted for even a few seconds. Unlike many other personal injury cases that only have one or only a few legal options when alleging claims of negligence, child abuse cases may involve many different types of inattentive or negligent behavior as contributing factors to your child’s abuse-related injury. Again, if just one negligence claim is substantiated against, for example, a daycare center, you may rightfully seek compensation for the damages to your child. By definition, you and the rest of your family have suffered.

Multiple Defendants Could be Involved in Your daycare Center Child Abuse Civil Action
One of the first questions that an aggrieved family often wants to be answered, “Who did this terrible thing to my child?” In the legal world, the person or entity (the defendant) responsible for an injury is called the “liable party” The specific circumstances surrounding a daycare abuse case will likely dictate who the liable parties are. There have also been several past instances of daycare abuse where the offender turns out not to be a daycare worker or teacher but rather an employee who doesn’t normally come in consistent contact with children at the daycare center: such as a janitor, bus driver, delivery person or someone else who may, in one form or another, have the opportunity to have unsupervised contact with the children who attend the daycare center, even if it’s very brief. Sometimes family members of daycare workers are implicated in daycare abuse cases. If an employee of a daycare center or worker with another company who has dealings with the center is guilty of child abuse at your daycare center, both the employee and the employer, as third parties, can be held liable for this employee’s negligent or predatory behavior. This also could include the employer of a delivery person to the daycare center who is responsible for the abuse. In many Texas civil cases, employers are viewed as legally liable for the offenses committed by their employees during their time at work, just as much as the offending employee. This term is called respondent superior. It is important to bring employees to justice in daycare child abuse cases and punishing employers for allowing this to happen. The buck stops with the owner/employer of the worker who abuses a child at daycare just as much as the actual perpetrator. In cases where one or more predators/defendants are involved in a child abuse case daycare facility, civil lawsuits may be pursued against each liable party. Because of the highly delicate nature of such cases, a careful investigation must be made for all liable parties to be properly identified and held fully accountable for the full measure of their negligent behavior. This investigation often includes an asset check on all defendants to ensure they have the financial means to pay damages once they are found guilty.

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DAYCARE ABUSE & NEGLECT

Be Prepared for a Vicious Fight When Protecting Your Child’s Rights in Court

We’ve already noted that when an employee of a daycare center is found liable for a child abuse incident, the employers and their company will also be held liable for the child abuse incident. But, determining the actual owner of a daycare center can sometimes pose several challenges. While most daycare centers are privately owned, others are owned by corporations that often have substantial legal clout. All Texas daycare centers must carry some personal liability insurance to be granted a state license. Without an experienced daycare abuse attorney to conduct an exhaustive investigation into the matter and assist you against such formidable defendants, your quest for justice on behalf of your child could end before it begins. If you did your due diligence before enrolling your child in a daycare center, you certainly asked if the center had insurance, what type, and how much. Assuming you were wise enough not to place your child in the daycare center unless the questions were answered satisfactorily. That defendant daycare center, or the company that owns it, will rely on its insurance carrier to pay their compensation damages in a liability case. So when a company or employer is involved in a personal injury claim, that company’s insurance carrier is all but certain to be involved in a daycare liability case because the carrier is the one who pays the damages. Beware that insurance companies all too often have previous experience in dealing with similar cases, not to mention civil liability cases in general. They and their attorneys (either in-house or on permanent retainer) are well-prepared (and well-armed) to aggressively defend their interests to their fullest capability. Such forceful defense, if successful, ultimately means that a great deal of money is saved by the defendants and the insurance carriers who fund their defense. So if your case ends up in court, be prepared for anything, including an assault on your character. They’ll certainly try to turn the tables and allege that someone in your family is the abuser. Emotional cases such as this bring out the worst in defendants and their lawyers. Not only is the burden of proof on you, but the burden to disprove their allegations against you, which are a part of any child abuse case, is also on you and your daycare abuse lawyer. With the help of an experienced child abuse attorney, you can receive the vital legal assistance you need against any strong defense tactics that are certain to be leveled against you by an insurance company and their lawyers who represent the defendants at an abusive daycare center.

Our Law Office Can Help You Win Legal Action for Child Daycare Abuse i
If you are convinced that daycare abuse has caused harm to your child, the Texas daycare abuse team at our Law Office can assist you in several significant ways. By seeking legal action through a personal injury lawsuit, fair compensation can be won for your child’s injury and fund treatment for this trauma, including the emotional pain your child has suffered. Such emotional disturbance and the psychological scars suffered by child abuse or neglect victims are well-documented. All of these problematic issues are taken into full account when considering the amount of fair compensation for daycare child abuse once the defendants are found guilty. In addition to pain and suffering, fair compensation damages can be sought for your family’s financial losses, such as the child’s past and future medical bills and any physical and psychological impairment caused by the abuse. And finally, punitive damages may be awarded to an aggrieved family, depending on the severity of the child abuse incident. Punitive damages are intended to make the guilty defendant in a civil lawsuit pay so much money over-and-above the actual damages that they will never repeat the child abuse or neglect that has harmed and scarred not only your child but your whole family. A wounded family wants and deserves both criminal and civil justice regarding child abuse or neglect. Those responsible for your child’s suffering must take legal responsibility for their actions so they will never commit this heinous act again. It is quite certain the actual abusive perpetrator will face criminal charges. But the center that allowed this abuser to prey on small children, even through ignorance of such offenses, must also be made to pay for their civil negligence. Whether these defendants must answer criminal charges or not, a personal injury lawsuit can be brought against these liable parties responsible for child abuse at any daycare facility. While no amount of money might seem to be fair compensation for the suffering caused to your child, the legal damages won against those liable defendants can be viewed as something like “just desserts” and bring a certain amount of closure.

By winning a civil case against those who are negligent with your child, actively abuse your little one, or hire and pay that abusive or neglectful employee, you are working to help save others from the grief and pain now thrust upon your family. If you suspect your child may suffer from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse at a daycare center, contact a Texas daycare abuse attorney at our Law Office, toll-free. We provide a free, comprehensive, and fully confidential legal consultation. We encourage you to ask every question you can think of so you’ll completely understand your child’s daycare abuse injury case and how it is best pursued. Our interest is in your child’s safety. Once we are engaged, we fully investigate every aspect of the daycare provider, its workers, all others who come in contact with the center, and the abuse. We work closely with law enforcement officials in their pursuit of criminal justice. We aggressively negotiate with all insurance companies to reach a fair settlement. They know who we are and know that if we have the strongest case, it’s better to cut their losses and settle for a reasonable amount rather than risk a trial. But if push comes to shove, we’ll just as aggressively represent you and your child in court. We want to hold these monstrous people accountable for their actions, bring them to full justice, and help end this nightmare brought about by a daycare worker who preyed on your innocent child.

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WORKPLACE INJURY / WORKERS’ COMP

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WORKPLACE INJURY / WORKERS’ COMP

The Most Important Thing You Need to Do Right Now, and Why:
This is the first thing you must understand after a serious work injury. Before you speak with an insurance company, accept even a single dollar of payment or compensation from your employer, sign anything, or attempt to file a lawsuit on your own, you must contact a competent lawyer. All of your opponents want you to accept a substandard settlement so that they can save their own money. Don’t be taken advantage of. Then, you must realize the critical importance of acting swiftly. In work accident cases, the evidence begins to fade immediately following the accident. The physical details of the accident scene itself can change overnight, especially if there is something to hide. And witnesses change their stories or forget what they saw because the mind is mysterious. Sometimes, they’ve even been paid to forget or to “take a nice long vacation.” If you wait too long to hire an attorney and put him to work investigating the trail of evidence, then you are doing untold damage to your ability to secure the fair restitution you deserve.

An experienced work accident attorney with our Law Office helps injured Texas employees deal with their challenging work-injury cases. We have spent over 20 years accumulating the expertise required to help injured workers like you receive the compensation they deserve for their medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering, and disability, as well as family survivors of wrongful death accident victims in the workplace. You have the opportunity to put our experience to work for you. We can answer your questions if you want to know your rights, how to proceed with your claim, and how much compensation you can reasonably expect to secure. Call our Law Office now at (toll-free) for a free consultation and find out how we can help you. You’ve been hurt once. Don’t let those who negligently caused you work accident injuries continue victimizing you and your family.

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