As a business owner, keeping informed about the finer points of employment law is important. If you're getting ready to hire your first employees, you need to be sure that you understand exactly what you can and cannot do. Don't risk getting yourself into legal trouble by asking the wrong question at the interview or making an off-hand comment that's considered legally unacceptable. I created this site to give you the basics of employment law expectations. I hope that the information here helps you to understand what you should and shouldn't do as you're interviewing and hiring your first staff members.
Irene Robertson
Childcare center staff is expected to keep the safety and wellbeing of the children they care for at the top of their priority list. Yet, there are times when these individuals miss the mark. Even worse, there are instances when their lack of regard leads to an injured child. For the parent of the child, it is clear that the actions of the center lead to child injuries, but when it comes to proving the matter in court — more is required. Learn about the three elements that must typically be present to prove childcare center injuries.
Responsibilities and Duties
You must be able to provide that the childcare center had a legal responsibility or duty to care for your child at the time of the incident. In simple terms, the child must have been at the center and under the care of the staff.
For instance, when a parent picks a child up, the moment the child walks out the building with the parent, the center is no longer responsible for the child's care, even though the child is still technically on the center's grounds. If a child were to fall in the parking lot while holding their parent's hand, the center may not face any responsibility for the incident.
Awareness
Another element that exists is awareness. The childcare center had to be aware that a particular action had the potential to lead to an injury. Some parents end up in an unfortunate situation in this instance because they have not always exchanged information with the childcare center that they needed to. For example, if a childcare center is aware that a child has a particular food allergy and the child has a severe reaction as a result of their negligence, there is no doubt the center was aware. This awareness and disregard of it would likely make the center liable.
Prevention
The injury that the child sustains must also be one that was preventable. The court will want to examine whether or not there were steps that could have prevented the accident. Take a child who falls off outdoor play equipment, for instance. If the child fell due to an underlying medical condition that caused the child to pass out, the center may not be responsible because they had no idea the risk existed. On the other hand, an instance where a child falls due to faulty equipment, the scenario is entirely preventable.
Any parent that believes their child was injured due to the actions of the childcare center staff should make it their priority to speak with an attorney as soon as possible. Look for a personal injury lawyer in your area.