Child Injury Lawyer Blog
In Arkansas and other states, parents rely upon day care centers to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment during the workday. For those who choose to own a day care center or work in one, it is important that safety needs of all the children, especially infants and toddlers, are met. Unfortunately for far too many children, injuries and incidents take place that are otherwise avoidable and preventable. In particular, injuries and incidents tend to take place when older children are permitted to play in an area occupied by much younger children. For instance, a 10 year old who has issues with hyperactivity and space issues should not be placed in the same room with an infant or toddler. Most states have rules and regulations in place regarding staff-to-child ratios and the proper supervision and separation of children by age in the day care setting.
Despite these requirements, injuries to children in day care centers still occur. As recently reported in the news of Arkansas, bite injuries are an example of potential harm that can come to children in day care. According to Mayo Clinic, human bite injuries can be even more dangerous than animal bites because of the differing strains of bacteria and viruses contained in human mouths. Correspondingly, children who sustain these types of injuries should seek medical attention because a tetanus shot may be necessary or an infection may arise. See Mayo Clinic – Risks of Infection – Human Bites. Therefore, biting is a potentially serious problem and should be avoided through consistent supervision and the following of the applicable rules and standards for day care centers.
With this in mind, a day care may be liable for a bite injury sustained by a child in its care. Though a day care center is not the absolute insurer of a child’s safety, day cares do owe their charges a duty of reasonable care. This means that day care centers should take reasonable precautions to safeguard the children in their care. Because biting is a common behavior in children, day care centers should take reasonable precautions to prevent it. For example, in the situation out of Arkansas, it was reported that caregivers laid down a 10-month-old baby for tummy time when an older child bit him. Reports also indicate that the older child was not supposed to be in that area and was known to bite. While it would probably be unreasonable to expect that the day care provide one to one supervision for every child, it would likely be reasonable to expect that the day care follow procedures about separating age groups, especially with a child with a known history of biting.
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.
In Arkansas and other States, day care centers have a duty to supervise, educate, and otherwise care for the children in a safe and supportive environment. The day care center should screen, background check, and train employees AND volunteers as necessary. The safety and well being of the children should be the focus of the day care center. At times, parents and others will request to serve as volunteers at the day care center. While most volunteers are caring individuals who only want to serve the day care center and community with their time and efforts, some volunteers have ulterior motives and visit the day care center as voyeurs or worse yet molesters seeking their next victims. It is certainly a study in contrast in that volunteers may be the most altruistic or the most vile. Again, most volunteers have good intentions and good motives; however, because of those that seek to prey on children in day care centers, schools, and sports organization, it is important that background checks are completed and that ALL volunteers are properly supervised and NOT given the opportunity to abuse or otherwise harm a child in a day care center, child care facility, school, or other location.
In Little Rock, Arkansas, a tragic incident took place on a school bus. It was reported that an 8 year old boy (Malik Lewis) boarded the bus and then opened the emergency door and fell out. He suffered a fatal head injury after hitting his head on the pavement. At the time of the incident, Malik was calling for his mother as he was opening the Emergency Door. It is certainly a tragic ending to such a young life right in front of others including his mother. You can read about this story at 
In the United States, there is a right to bear arms under the Second Amendment. With rights come responsibilities. These responsibilities include the safe use, storage and transportation of guns and fire arms. There are many companies that have produced some excellent products that make guns safety. I had the opportunity to pose some questions to Wayne Woolsey, CEO of Waynes Wicked Enterprises, Inc. based in Fayetteville, Arkansas.