With parents getting busier and busier each passing year, the role of caring for children is often contracted out to skilled professionals with a passion for childcare found in almost every suburb or town in America. Daycare centers provide a much-needed resource for busy parents who would like their children cared for in a safe and supportive environment. These facilities often feature dozens of children of varying ages, and one can drop off their child to play with others and get looked after for up to 8 or more hours every day. Daycare centers are not only convenient, but they can be affordable and remove the headache of having to find a babysitter for your child, who, more often than not, is exorbitant when it comes to their rates. However, daycare centers aren’t what they are cracked out to be, as seen in the almost weekly news items we see about these facilities on network news where children are reported to have been beaten, starved, not having their diapers changed for hours, and worse. Daycare centers are legally obligated to provide a certain level of care to your loved one, failure to which and due to negligence, may be held liable for any and all injuries your child may sustain while on their premises. It is important to note that these cases are often time-sensitive, and your child’s injuries may fade as well as their recollection of events, and damning CCTV camera footage may also disappear, and it’s because of this you’ll need access to timely legal resources to help preserve you and your child’s rights to justice and compensation, and we’re here to help with that.

Are you looking for the best daycare abuse lawyer? For over two decades, the experienced and compassionate attorneys at McCready Law have helped thousands of injured individuals get the justice and compensation they duly deserve by holding negligent parties accountable for their actions. Our experienced daycare neglect and abuse attorneys have countrywide reach, so feel free to call us wherever you are in the country at 312-444-0214  for your FREE legal consultation. In addition, we run a bilingual office (Hablamos Espanol), and we are not afraid to litigate, unlike the majority of law firms handling these types of cases owing to our experience when it comes to garnering top-dollar verdicts and settlements for our clients, and our experience demonstrates this. These cases are taken up on a contingency fee basis, and what this means is that there are ZERO UPFRONT FEES should we decide to take up your case as our legal fees are deducted from your settlement at the end of the process, which means we can only recover our fees if we win your case on your behalf. For timely and compassionate legal help in all things daycare abuse and neglect, please give us a call NOW at 312-444-0214 for your 100% FREE legal consultation – our intake team is standing by.

Daycare Abuse Statistics in America – A Worrying Trend

The shocking reality is that 1 in 10 children will at one point experience abuse while in a daycare setting. This effectively makes daycare abuse a modern-day epidemic affecting our society by and large, and our children, who can do little to defend themselves, often bear the brunt of heavy-handed and cruel adults who should know better due to their ability to differentiate right from wrong.  The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies estimates that there are a little over 12 million children under the age of 5 attending some iteration of child care in the country, meaning that over 10 million children are actively experiencing childcare abuse at any given time.

What’s even more worrying is the culture of underreporting when it comes to these crimes due to a number of factors such as the lack of concrete evidence, the shame and fear family members may feel, their wanting to not re-victimize the child over and over again, as well as children not having the ability to vocalize their experiences in order to facilitate effective reporting of this crime. It is also estimated that only 1 in 5 child abuse cases are reported to the authorities.

Most Common Forms of Daycare Child Abuse – Know The Signs

Here are some of the most common forms of childhood abuse in daycare centers

Physical abuse

Perhaps the most common or visible form of daycare abuse, this form involves various forms of physical trauma meted out on the unsuspecting child in order to get them to comply with orders or for no reason at all. Striking a child with an open hand is considered physical abuse, and it can leave visible marks which can lead to emotional and physical trauma. Shaking a child is also something that falls under physical abuse, and it is particularly dangerous for infants as it may lead to the development of shaken baby syndrome which has been shown to cause brain damage and death. In some cases, daycare workers may use excessive restraint such as tying a child to furniture or having them sit in a different room in order to control their movements or actions – a form of physical abuse in and of itself.

Some of the signs that may point to physical abuse include unexplained bruises, marks or injuries on your child, particularly in hidden areas such as the inner thigh or under the arm. In addition, your child may have an unusual fear of adults or particular caregivers and may flinch or try to run away or even cry when placed near these individuals. Abuse also makes children become aggressive or withdrawn as a coping mechanism.

Emotional Abuse

Emotional or psychological abuse usually involves actions that may harm a child’s emotional well-being or psychological development. This is an insidious form of abuse that has the potential to leave lifelong scars in a child’s psyche and must be addressed immediately by having the child speak with a child psychologist. Emotional abuse may include things like verbal abuse, such as insults and harsh criticism, as well as belittling or yelling at a child. Negative reinforcement, despite being effective in some instances, can impact a still-developing child’s sense of self. Humiliation via publicly shaming a child can also lead to a sense of anxiety or worthlessness, particularly when it happens in front of their peers. In addition, emotional abuse may manifest as failing to respond to a child’s emotional needs, such as support, affection, affirmation, and validation. Over time, the child may begin to feel abandoned or isolated.

Daycare-bound children may manifest signs and symptoms of emotional abuse, such as increased aggression or withdrawal, depression, anxiety, mood swings, and low self-esteem. Given the sometimes deep-rooted nature of emotional abuse, it is important to foster a culture of open communication, affirmation, and validation in order to get your child to open up and tell you about their experiences at their daycare center.

Can I Sue if My Child Experienced Abuse at a Daycare Center?

Daycare abuse can attract both criminal and civil consequences and involve a number of legal principles that only an experienced attorney can flesh out or expound on. That said, duty of care, breach of said duty of care, causation, and damages are the key elements you must prove in order to have a valid daycare abuse lawsuit. For starters, you must prove that the daycare facility had a duty of care to keep your child safe and free from any abuse or injuries while under their care. This means, for example, that they must have and implement various safety protocols to safeguard the children they care for.

For example, they are required to provide safe play environments as well as appropriate, hands-on supervision. Staff is also required to have undergone training in child development, emergency procedures, and first aid to lessen the risk of harm to any child. Lastly, daycare center management is required to conduct thorough background checks on anyone they hire to make sure they are not a danger to said children.

Next, you must prove that the daycare center or its employees breached this duty of care via the carrying out of negligent actions such as physical or emotional abuse or even neglect caught on camera or opined by a healthcare provider. Causation is yet another legal requirement you must prove, and this involves showing that the abuse your child suffered was proximately related to the daycare’s actions, inactions or negligence. The final element you must demonstrate is that the child suffered significant physical or emotional harm to warrant the issuing of money damages, and this hinges on proving that the daycare center’s breach of duty of care was the proximate cause of your child’s injuries.

Best Countrywide Daycare Abuse Attorneys – Call Us Today!

We understand that all of this may be complicated and too much to take in. However, your child’s future may hang in the balance, and prompt action from your end can mean a world of difference in this stage of their development. By working with our best child daycare center abuse lawyers, we will help prepare a compelling case that will prove the elements listed above in a comprehensive manner so you are able to recover financial damages such as the cost of medical treatment, enrollment into another daycare center as well as therapy. Please give us a call NOW at 312-444-0214 to learn more about how we can help protect you and your loved one’s rights and overall safety. Thanks for choosing McCready Law, and we look forward to helping you.