More than 80 percent of Texas families with children rely on daycares. If you’re among them, the daycare routine is familiar to you. You drop off your child expecting an uneventful day. Maybe at pickup, you’ll hear a new story or song, or your child will show you their artwork.

You don’t expect, and never want, a phone call reporting that your child has been injured. Getting this phone call can turn your world upside-down. Severe injuries like back injuries can cause serious harm to children. Daycare workers are also at risk of back injuries while working with children.

Texas lets families bring negligence claims when a daycare’s lack of due care results in a back or other injury. Daycare employees may access workers’ compensation and may also have a personal injury claim.

At the Gustin Law Firm, we represent Pasadena, Texas families, children, and workers after serious back injuries and other injuries at daycare centers. To learn more, contact our team today. 

Back Injury Risks at Pasadena, Texas Daycares

Children’s bodies develop rapidly. Their small spines and muscles are often fragile. A playground fall, a slip from a caregiver’s grasp, or another event can easily result in a back or spine injury. Employees can also be injured while picking up children, moving equipment, or carrying out other essential tasks. 

Back Injuries to Children

Many daycares take safety seriously. Yet it only takes one moment of carelessness to cause harm.

Falls are a common cause of back injuries in daycare settings. Children can fall from playground equipment or furniture like picnic tables. If the equipment or furniture is on a hard surface, a broken bone or spinal cord bruise is more likely.

Young children need constant supervision when they’re on a changing table or in a crib. A wiggly child may fall if a caregiver steps away for even a moment.

Roughhousing can also result in injuries. Kids who are playing roughly can cause a pileup or other injurious scenarios, especially if a caregiver doesn’t step in. A caregiver who yanks a child by the arm may also cause injuries. Even a ride in a van or bus can cause injuries in an accident. 

Back Injuries to Daycare Workers

Daycare workers routinely lift children in their care. While newborns often weigh ten pounds or less, toddlers can weigh up to 40 or 50 pounds. Repeated lifting can cause back injuries, including repetitive stress injuries.

Moving tools and equipment can also cause injuries for daycare workers. Pushing or pulling carts loaded with toys and supplies, moving a table to clean up a spill, or moving a stroller or changing table can all result in injury. Injuries are more likely if equipment contains dangerous hidden defects that cause it to move or collapse unexpectedly.

Bending, reaching, lifting, and twisting are all common motions for caregivers of young children. These movements can also result in acute injuries or repetitive stress injuries that build up over time. 

Who is Responsible When a Back Injury Happens at a Daycare?

In many cases, more than one party shares responsibility for back injuries in daycare settings. Common parties named in daycare injury claims in Pasadena include:

• The individual daycare provider or aide whose actions caused harm. Harm may be caused by taking an action (such as yanking a child’s arm) or failing to take action (such as doing nothing when children are roughhousing). 
• The daycare business. Some daycares belong to national, regional, or local franchises. Others are non-profit programs run by churches or community centers. Texas also has thousands of licensed providers who offer daycare from their homes. Each of these is a business that may be liable for injuries.
• A business’s owner, director, or supervisor. This person may be liable if their failure to use due care in hiring led to harm.
• A daycare property owner. The building and grounds may be owned by the daycare business or by another party. Broken railings, uneven steps, cracked flooring, unsafe play structures, and inadequate lighting can all cause preventable injuries.
• A manufacturer of defective equipment or tools: tables, chairs, changing tables, cribs, carts, benches, play equipment, and more. Those who use these items may not know a dangerous hidden defect exists until it’s too late. 

It’s not always easy to figure out who is responsible. It’s even harder when you’re recovering from a serious injury or nursing your child through one. An experienced attorney like those at Gustin Law Firm can help. 

Pasadena Daycare Injury Basics

It’s not always easy to know what to do after a serious injury. Understanding Texas’s basic rules for personal injury and workers’ compensation claims can help. Knowing more about time limits, compensation, and what to expect can help you ask informed questions when you speak to a knowledgeable attorney. 

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim After a Back Injury? 

Texas’s statute of limitations gives two years after the date of an accident to file a personal injury claim. However, the state recognizes that children cannot file court cases on their own behalf. A child has until their 18^th birthday to bring a claim. Parents can also file a claim on behalf of the child.

If you’re a daycare employee injured at work, you also have two years to file a personal injury claim against a third party, like the manufacturer of defective equipment. For workers’ compensation, however, the deadlines are much shorter. You have only 30 days to report your injury to your employer. You or your employer must report the injury to the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) within one year. Other deadlines apply to medical benefits and appeals – some as short as ten days. Talk to a dedicated attorney as soon as you can.

Compensation After a Back Injury at a Pasadena, Texas Daycare Center

Most injury claims seek money damages. Money doesn’t erase what happened to you or your child. Yet it can help address the costs imposed by the injury. A successful case for compensation also helps hold negligent parties accountable for their actions.

Texas injury claims often seek both financial and non-financial compensation. Financial compensation focuses on money losses, like medical bills, lost wages, and lost earning capacity for injuries that cause permanent disabilities. Non-financial compensation focuses on personal losses, like physical pain and suffering and emotional distress.

In some cases, a daycare or other party behaves so badly a court will agree to impose exemplary damages. These damages punish gross negligence, malice, or fraud.

Bills add up fast after a back injury. For children, back injuries can be particularly distressing. Young children often cannot communicate what’s happening to them. They may not understand why they are forced to endure surgery, back braces, physical therapy, and other medical ordeals. Compensation helps families provide the support and care their children need – without worrying about how they’ll pay the bills. 

Strong compensation claims are built on strong evidence. The strongest evidence is gathered as soon as possible after the injury. At Gustin Law Firm, we start by checking the daycare’s inspection and citation history. We preserve surveillance video before it is lost in routine system erasures. We also help you and your child get necessary medical care, preserving evidence of the injury and its impacts. The more we know, the more effectively we can build a case for full, fair compensation after a serious injury. 

Trust Gustin Law Firm to Help After a Serious Injury

You trusted your child’s daycare. You’ve been able to trust them before. Yet it took only one day, one instance, for them to let you down. Now your child is paying the price. Or maybe you trusted your employer to support your commitment to working with children, only to find that you’re now suffering from a serious injury.

Whether you’re helping a suffering child or enduring a back injury yourself, you’re not alone. The Pasadena, Texas attorneys at Gustin Law Firm backs our commitment to our clients with years of experience, a strong courtroom record, and the resources needed to pursue full, fair compensation. To learn more, contact our office today at (713) 491-4792 for a free, confidential consultation with a Pasadena daycare injury lawyer. 

FAQs: Pasadena, Texas Back Injury Claims