There are approximately 2,500 childcare facilities in South Carolina, including nurseries, traditional daycares, and home daycares that look after several thousand children every day. It’s to be expected that sometimes, accidents happen and injuries occur while children are in their care. The question is, can you sue your child’s nursery or daycare for their injuries?
The answer is yes, as long as you can show that the daycare or caregiver was responsible for their injuries. Here are the most common types of claims brought against daycares.
Daycare Negligence
In most cases, a suit brought against a daycare or nursery will be a personal injury claim based on negligence.
Examples of negligence at a daycare could include:
- Caregiver leaves baby unattended on changing table, baby rolls off and is injured
- Caregiver gives child peanut butter, resulting in hospitalization, despite knowing about the child’s peanut allergy
- Caregiver leaves child unattended and child is burned by boiling water from kettle
To have a successful negligence claim, you must show that the facility or caregiver had a duty of care towards your child, that they breached that duty of care, and that the breach resulted in harm to your child.
You may also be able to bring a “negligence per se” claim against the daycare if you discover it is violating statute. By law, daycares in South Carolina must, among other things, adhere to strict caregiver-child ratios based on age and only hire staff with the proper training. If you discover that, for example, your child’s daycare employs too few staff for the number of children, or that the staff hasn’t been adequately trained, that’s an example of negligence per se. It’s important to note that in this case, you don’t need to show that your child was injured as a result, only that the law was broken.
Premises liability
If your child was injured due to hazardous conditions of the facility itself, you may be looking at a premises liability claim. Daycares have a duty to keep their facilities safe. This means they must maintain the premises inside and out and make repairs in a reasonable time frame.
Examples of accidents that could lead to a premises liability claim include:
- Child is injured by a falling bookshelf that was not secured to the wall
- Child breaks a wrist after slipping on a dirty floor that’s been neglected too long
- Child is bitten by a dog who has entered through the unmended fence outside
As with a negligence case, above, you must show that the facility owed a duty of care, that they breached that duty, and that the breach resulted in injury in order to have a successful claim.
Talk to the Personal Injury Attorneys at The Carolina Law Group
Experiencing the injury or death of a child in daycare is devastating, especially because they were entrusted with the care of your child. If your child was injured while in daycare, you may be able to bring a suit against the facility. The personal injury lawyers at The Carolina Law Group have experience in daycare claims and will fight for justice on your behalf. Schedule your free consultation today to discuss your case.
The Carolina Law Group has four offices in upstate South Carolina for your convenience: Greenville (principal office; call 864.312.4444), West Greenville (864.312.4444), Greer (principal office; call 864.757.5555), and Spartanburg (principal office; call 864.757.5555). Call today.