By Jonathan Safran, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In Wisconsin, there are hundreds of day care centers. Parents and caregivers can look up information regarding a day care center and access important rules and regulations as to day care centers by accessing the State of Wisconsin Department of Children and Families Web Site. The database provides parents, caregivers and others important information regarding the day care centers / child care centers including name, owner, licensee, type of license, address, telephone numbers, hours of operation, and, most importantly, the history of compliance / inspections with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.
Day care centers / child care centers are regulated by Title 13 A – State Board of Education Subtitle 16 Child Care Centers. Child care is defined as the care of supervision of a child in Maryland during times that the parent has given or permitted the child’s care to another for a portion of a 24 hour day. The Maryland regulations stated that child care does not include group lessons or classes like piano lesson, karate lessons, etc. . . unless the lessons are provided as a pattern that indicate that the business is operating as a child care center. Scouting activities (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and other groups) are also excluded as day care centers.
In Alabama, child day care centers have a duty to provide children with a safe physical environment as to prevent personal injuries and wrongful death of children in the day care setting. Pursuant to Minimum Standards for Day Care Centers Regulations and Procedures, State of Alabama, Department of Human Resources, facilities have duties and responsibilities as follows:
In Mississippi, school bus drivers need to have background checks before they are hired to drive our children. Recently, a school bus driver in Jackson County, Mississippi, had two bus accidents in less than one month. The second wreck caused five children to be hospitalized when the bus ran off the road and overturned. Fortunately, the first wreck involving this same bus driver only caused property damage and no injuries.
A Louisiana helicopter heading for an offshore oil platform crashed in a Louisiana marsh leaving eight dead and one injured. It is a tragic incident for those in the helicopter as well as their families. The helicopter was operated by PHI, Inc. News reports state that the helicopter crashed a short time period after take off. The helicopter was operated by two pilots and had seven passengers. The crash took place near New Orleans in a marsh located in the Terrebonne Parish. The seven passengers were employees of two Shell Oil Company contractors as they were traveling to the oil platform. In most States, there are specific laws in place dealing with wrongful death worker’s compensation matters. In addition, there may be a third party liability case against the helicopter operators, owners, and manufacturers for the wrongful deaths and personal injuries. 
In Alabama and Other States, children suffer personal injuries and in some cases, death, as a result of an incident or accident at a child day care center. In Alabama, a child day care center has reporting and documentation obligations and responsibilities for these incidents pursuant to the 
When choosing a day care center in Mississippi and other States, it is important for parents to research the facility and to find out as much information as possible about the facility. The Mississippi State Department of Health has a very useful website with information about day care center / child care center regulations. In addition, the Department of Health site lets you search a database by county and facility for contact information for Mississippi day care centers / child care centers.
In Georgia, day care centers / child care centers have a duty to provide a safe physical environment for the children. These regulations, if followed, help prevent serious personal injuries and death to children in Georgia day care centers. Pursuant to Chapter 290 -2-2.12 (z) Physical Environment and Equipment, a Georgia day care center shall keep the following items / areas locked and away from access from children in the day care center:
Children, special needs adults, and the elderly need proper supervision and assistance especially when they are transported away from their homes and under the care of others. In New York, a special needs 22 year old (Edwin Rivera) was left a bus all night. The 22 year old had cerebral palsy and spent a cold winter’s night on the school bus when his caretaker forgot or did not check to see that Edwin Rivera was still on the bus.
Getting drunk can literally kill a child. In Indianapolis, Indiana, a mother was sentenced to 15 years of prison for suffocating her child. Police reported that Latasha McMorris (age 25) was found lying on top of 2 year old (Sheldon Bartley, Jr.) after she had passed out in a motel room in Indianapolis, Indiana. Officer reported that bottles of gin and vodka were found in the motel room. McMorris’ boyfriend had called 911 about the incident.