Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Child Injury Lawyer
Day care centers are commonly used by families all over the country. Parents assume that children are being cared for in a supportive learning environment by caring child care providers. Child care workers are expected to be responsible, dependable, and patient. Training should be completed pursuant to state and local day care regulations for each worker to to being officially employed by the day care center.
Video surveillance at a day care center can help document many incidents that in the past were “swept under the rug” or hidden by the day care center. Without the benefit of video surveillance, many incidents of child abuse were kept quiet. Day care center workers would claim ignorance, “I do not know what happened.” Alternatively, the day care center worker would make up a story, “Johnny fell while running on the playground.”
In Northview Heights, Pennsylvania, a tragic death of a 4 year old girl – Shaniya Darby-Sims – was recently reported. A television set weighing approximately 60 pounds fell off of a dresser and onto the 4 year old year old. The mother – Shamika Darby – found her daughter upstairs and removed the television set off of her and then started CPR. The child was later rushed to Children’s Hospital where she later died. See 
Allegheny County Officials are investigating the death of a baby at a home day care center in Pennsylvania. According to officials, 10-month-old Desmire Williams was in the care of a home daycare owned by Melody Lang on Singer Place in Wilkinsburg. Sources said that an employee at the day care fed the baby and then put him down for a nap. The day care center said they checked on the child several times and noticed he was in a deep sleep. The day care center contacted the mother, Desiree Pinkston, about the infant’s sleeping habits. Once Pinkston arrived at the day care center, she found employees trying to resuscitate the child. Pinkston immediately called 911 because the home day care center had not done so.
A former day care worker has been charged with another crime of child molestation in Allegheny County. Matthew Keith Byars, 25, of the North Side, was previously charged with molesting four boys at Tender Care Learning Center and now has been charged with allegedly fondling a fifth boy years ago who he met at church.
A school bus transporting adults and children to a church camp collided with a Cadillac in Pennsylvania. According to Pennsylvania State Police, the bus was from Cumberland Valley Christian School in Chambersburg, and it collided with a Cadillac. The incident occurred on Interstate 81 near Chambersburg.
