Your child just came home from daycare with an unexplained bruise, a broken bone, or worse. Your stomach drops. You have questions, and you deserve real answers. What happened? Who is responsible? What do you do next? If your child was hurt at a Houston daycare, the steps you take in the hours and days that follow can make or break your ability to hold the right people accountable. At Gustin Law Firm, based in Houston, Texas, we help families fight back when daycares fail to protect their children. Attorney Charlie Gustin and his team have recovered more than $50 million for injured clients across Texas, and we are ready to stand with your family.

Table of Contents

• Get Medical Help for Your Child Immediately
• Document the Injury and Report It to the Right Authorities
• Understand Texas Law and What Makes a Daycare Liable
• Know Your Deadlines: The Texas Statute of Limitations for Daycare Injury Claims
• Understand the Compensation Your Family May Be Entitled To
• FAQs About What to Do After a Daycare Injury in Houston

Get Medical Help for Your Child Immediately

The very first thing you do after a daycare injury is get your child to a doctor. Do not wait to see if the injury gets better on its own. Children often cannot fully explain what hurts or how serious their pain is. A medical professional can identify hidden injuries, like internal trauma, head injuries, or fractures that are not visible to the eye. This is especially true for infants and toddlers who have no way to communicate their symptoms.

Seek care at a Houston emergency room or urgent care center right away. Texas Children’s Hospital on Fannin Street and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital near the Texas Medical Center are two trusted options for pediatric care in the Houston area. If the injury appears life-threatening, call 911 immediately and do not move the child unless there is an immediate danger.

Medical records from this first visit are critical evidence in any future legal claim. The records will document the type and severity of the injury, the date and time of treatment, and the medical team’s findings. This creates a timeline that connects your child’s injuries to the daycare. Keep all medical bills, discharge papers, prescription receipts, and follow-up visit records. These documents form the foundation of a claim for medical costs, pain and suffering, and long-term care needs.

Do not let the daycare talk you out of seeking medical attention. Some facilities may downplay the incident or tell you the injury is minor. Trust your instincts as a parent. A doctor’s evaluation protects your child’s health and your legal rights at the same time. Once your child is safe and receiving care, your next priority is documenting everything you can about what happened.

Document the Injury and Report It to the Right Authorities

After getting your child medical care, document everything as thoroughly as possible. Take clear photographs of your child’s injuries from multiple angles. Write down the exact time you picked up your child, what the daycare staff told you, and the names of any employees who were present. If other parents witnessed anything unusual, ask for their contact information. Evidence fades fast, so act quickly.

You also need to report the incident to the appropriate state agency. Texas Health and Human Services Child Care Regulation (CCR) is responsible for protecting the health, safety, and well-being of children who attend regulated child-care facilities. You can report a suspected child care violation or injury to CCR directly. If abuse or neglect is suspected, you should contact DFPS, which conducts investigations and operates a statewide hotline. For emergencies, call 1-800-252-5400.

Request a copy of the daycare’s incident report in writing. Texas law requires licensed daycare centers to notify parents immediately of certain emergencies and injuries. Under Texas Health and Human Services Minimum Standards for Child-Care Centers, Chapter 746, a daycare must notify the parent of a child immediately if there is an allegation that the child has been abused, neglected, or exploited while in their care. If the facility refuses to provide documentation or gives you a vague account of what happened, that resistance itself can be a red flag worth noting.

You can also check the facility’s inspection and violation history online through the Texas HHS Child Care search tool. Minimum Standards reduce risk for children in out-of-home care settings by outlining basic requirements to protect the health, safety, and well-being of children in care. A pattern of prior violations at the same facility can strengthen a negligence claim considerably. Gathering this information early gives your attorney the building blocks needed to build a strong case on your family’s behalf.

Understand Texas Law and What Makes a Daycare Liable

Texas law gives parents real legal tools to pursue compensation when a daycare fails to protect a child. Daycare facilities owe a duty of care to every child in their custody. When that duty is breached through inadequate supervision, unsafe conditions, staff misconduct, or licensing violations, the facility can be held legally responsible for the resulting harm.

Licensed daycares in Texas must meet minimum standards set by Texas Health and Human Services under Chapter 746 of the Texas Administrative Code. The ratio of children to teachers in a childcare center ensures that all children have proper supervision at all times, and required maximum ratios depend on the maximum number of children cared for in the center. When a daycare violates these ratios, a child left without adequate supervision can be seriously hurt. Ratio violations are one of the most common factors in daycare injury cases across Houston.

Premises liability is another important legal theory in daycare injury cases. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 75.007(c), a property owner or occupant may be liable for injury to a child caused by a highly dangerous artificial condition on the property if the owner knew or reasonably should have known children were present and the dangerous condition existed. This applies to unsafe playground equipment, broken flooring, exposed hazards, and other physical dangers on daycare grounds, from facilities near the Galleria area to daycares in the Heights neighborhood.

If a daycare employee caused harm through intentional misconduct, the facility may also face liability under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 41.005(c), which allows punitive damages against an employer when a criminal act was committed by an employee acting in a managerial capacity or when the employer ratified or approved the act. This means the daycare’s corporate structure does not shield it from accountability for the actions of its staff.

Connecting with an experienced daycare injury attorney as early as possible ensures that all applicable legal theories are identified and pursued before critical deadlines pass.

Know Your Deadlines: The Texas Statute of Limitations for Daycare Injury Claims

Time limits matter in every personal injury case, and daycare injury claims are no exception. Missing a deadline can permanently eliminate your right to compensation, regardless of how strong your case is. Understanding how Texas law handles these deadlines for injured children is essential.

Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003, the standard statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years from the date of the incident. However, Texas law treats injured children differently. When a minor under 18 is injured, the statute of limitations is tolled, or paused, until they reach age 18. When the victim is a minor, the two-year Texas personal injury statute of limitations does not start running until they turn 18, meaning a minor has until age 20 to file a claim.

There is an important exception parents must keep in mind. The medical bills incurred while your child is a minor are your responsibility as a parent, and your personal claim for those expenses follows the standard two-year deadline, not the extended deadline that applies to your child’s claim. Waiting too long to act can cost you the right to recover those costs.

In wrongful death situations, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 71.002 establishes that a person is liable for damages arising from an injury that causes an individual’s death if the injury was caused by the person’s wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, or default. Under Section 71.004, surviving spouses, children, and parents of the deceased may bring a wrongful death action. The two-year deadline for wrongful death claims begins from the date of death, not the date of the injury.

Do not assume that the tolling rule for minors means you have unlimited time. Evidence disappears. Witnesses move away. Security camera footage gets deleted. Working with a Houston daycare injury lawyer from the beginning ensures that evidence is preserved and your claim is positioned for the best possible outcome.

Understand the Compensation Your Family May Be Entitled To

When a daycare injures your child through negligence, your family has the right to pursue compensation for every way that injury has affected your lives. Texas law allows injured parties to seek several categories of damages, and in daycare cases, those damages can be substantial depending on the severity of the harm.

Medical expenses are typically the starting point. This includes emergency room bills, surgery costs, specialist visits, physical therapy, medications, and any future medical care your child will need as a result of the injury. If your child suffered a serious head injury, a broken bone, a burn, or a choking incident that caused lasting damage, the long-term medical costs alone can be significant. Keep every receipt and every record.

Beyond medical costs, Texas law also allows recovery for pain and suffering, which covers the physical pain and emotional distress your child experienced. Parents may also be entitled to compensation for their own emotional distress and the loss of consortium with their child during recovery. If the injury caused a permanent disability or long-term developmental harm, future lost earning capacity may also be part of the damages calculation.

In cases involving gross negligence or intentional misconduct by daycare staff, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 41 allows courts to award exemplary (punitive) damages. These are designed to punish particularly reckless or malicious behavior and deter similar conduct in the future. If a daycare knowingly violated safety standards or covered up an incident, punitive damages may be on the table.

At Gustin Law Firm, we handle daycare injury cases on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. Please note that litigation expenses such as court costs and expert witness fees may be deducted from any gross recovery. We believe every family deserves access to quality legal representation, regardless of their financial situation. Call us today at (713) 491-4792 for a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer who will fight for your child’s future.

FAQs About What to Do After a Daycare Injury in Houston

What should I do first if my child is injured at a Houston daycare?

Get your child medical attention immediately. Go to an emergency room or urgent care clinic right away, even if the injury looks minor. After your child is safe and receiving care, document the injuries with photographs, write down everything the daycare staff told you, and request a copy of the facility’s incident report in writing. These early steps protect both your child’s health and your legal rights.

Can I sue a daycare in Texas if my child was hurt due to a lack of supervision?

Yes. Texas law requires licensed daycares to maintain specific staff-to-child ratios and provide adequate supervision at all times. When a daycare violates those standards and a child is injured as a result, the facility can be held legally liable for negligence. You can file a personal injury claim on your child’s behalf as their parent or legal guardian under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 44. An attorney can review the facts of your case and determine the best path forward.

How long do I have to file a daycare injury claim in Texas?

Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003, the standard deadline for personal injury claims is two years from the date of the incident. For injured children, the statute of limitations is paused until the child turns 18, giving the child until their 20th birthday to file. However, parents seeking to recover their own medical expense claims must act within the standard two-year window. Acting quickly also preserves critical evidence, so do not wait.

What if the daycare denies that the injury happened at their facility?

Daycare facilities sometimes deny responsibility or claim an injury occurred elsewhere. This is why documenting everything immediately after the incident is so important. Medical records, photographs, the daycare’s own incident report, witness accounts, and security footage can all help establish that the injury happened in the facility’s care. An attorney can send a legal hold notice to preserve surveillance video and other records before they are deleted or destroyed.

Does Gustin Law Firm charge upfront fees for daycare injury cases?

No. Gustin Law Firm handles daycare injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. Litigation expenses such as court filing fees and expert witness costs may be deducted from any gross recovery amount. There is no financial risk to calling us and discussing your case. Contact Gustin Law Firm today at (713) 491-4792 to schedule a free consultation. Our principal office is located in Houston, Texas.

More Resources About Parent Action & Guidance After a Daycare Injury

• How to Report a Daycare in Houston
• How to Check Daycare Violations in Texas
• Can I Sue a Daycare in Houston?
• How Long Do I Have to File a Daycare Injury Claim in Texas?