Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Summer is a wonderful time for children to explore, to be active, and to get some further education. For working parents, summer time is just another 3 months of work. As such, working parents rely upon day care centers and summer camps to provide for the care and safety of their children. There are serious risks and dangers that present themselves during summer. Namely, there are risks of serious personal injuries and even death when a child is left in a school bus or day care center van for even just a few minutes. There should be no such thing as running a quick errand as a child remains in a school bus or day care center van unattended without any air conditioning. Furthermore, there should be no such thing or story of a child mistakenly left on a school bus or van in the summer or any other time of the year. With the heat of summer, there are greater risks for hyperthermia which, in turn, can cause serious personal injuries and even the death of a young child. Tragically, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, it appears that a child died as a result of hyperthermia as a result of being left in a day care center vehicle. It was reported that the 22 month old child was left in the vehicle for about 2 hours or so. A day care center employee was asked to lie to the local authorities as to the situation and circumstances where the child was found. While the day care center operator had experience working with children, her license had expired. You can read more about this horrible event at – 22 Month Old Child Dies After Being Left in Day Care Center Vehicle. 
When deciding on the selection of a day care center OR when deciding on the continuation of care with a day care center, a parent should do his or her homework. This includes checking with the local State agency that licenses and regulates day care centers to find out the following:
Infants are at risk for suffocation and asphyixation when they are put to bed with pillows, loose blankets, and / or stuffed animals. If you ask most parents if they would put a plastic bag or a sheet of plastic in a crib with an infant, most parents will say that is ridiculuous and reckless in that it puts the child at risk for suffocation. Clearly, it would be a rare occurence for a parent, day care center, or other child care provider to put an infant to bed with a sheet of plastic or a plastic bag for these very reasons. However, many parents and child care providers fail to recognize the risk associated with blanets, pillows, and stuffed animals in the crib or sleeping area of a child. In fact, some blankets and pillows have cartoon characters on them and seem like a good, soft environment for a child to sleep on or near. The very problem with these items are the softness which can quickly turn into a trap if an infant becomes face down or in contact with the soft items to the point that breathing is cut off and / or drastically affected. It was recently reported in Arkansas that an infant died after she was put to sleep near two pillows. It was reported that the infant rolled over and ultimately suffocated. The mother was out of the room for a short period of time. This incident is one of many that unfortunately take place when a child is in a crib or sleeping area near soft objects.
Proper maintenance and supervision are essential for the safety of children in school, day care, summer camp, and other locations. There have been reports of children suffering serious injuries even dying as a result of items being left in and around the playground. Two recent incidents involved the strangulation of a child in a playground. One was strangulated by a jump rose and the other was strangulated by some type rope or twine. If the items were not left in the playground area and / or there was proper supervision in place, the incidents would have likely been prevented.
Day care centers, schools, summer camps, and other child care care providers should have protocols and procedures in place to prevent what is been termed Hot Car Deaths
One of the best experience for a child enrolled in a day care center, school, or summer camp is the field trip. It certainly can be an adventure for the day to get out to a different location and have fun with friends. Common destinations for field trips include: swimming pools, beaches, amusement parks, theme parks, movie theaters, historic sites, and other locations. Typically, a field trip is a great experience for a child.
Parents rely on day care centers for the proper care and supervision of their children. Unfortunately, there are some day care owners and staff members who should never be in charge of children because they lack the patience, training, and common sense to properly care for children. At times, a child care provider / day care provider loses his or her patience and assaults child at the day care center.
In Georgia and other States, a day care center has some basic responsibilities including the duty to keep a child out of harm’s way. In any given day care center whether in a commercial type of facility or a home based day care center, there are many dangers. Some are obvious and some are not so obvious. Dangers that could result in personal injuries to a child include: firearms, drugs, poisons, sharp objects, pools, lakes, bathtubs, hot water, household cleaners and chemicals, ropes including jump ropes (risks of strangulation), and many other dangers. A day care center and its staff should use their best efforts to keep these dangerous items out of the reach of children. Furthermore, it is vital that consistent and adequate supervision be provided to children enrolled in the day care center. While a day care center is not necessarily legally responsible for all injuries occurring at the day care center, a day care center is liable when the injuries were foreseeable to some extent and preventable with reasonable and necessary safety precautions and proper supervision. Certainly, any injury intentionally inflicted by a staff member can be actionable as a legal claim or case.