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Charlotte Day Care Accident Attorney

The decision of whom to entrust to care for your child while you are at work can be difficult. Working parents must consider several factors when choosing the right Charlotte day care facility including cost, hours of operation, location, type of care (in home or day care center), and the most important concern, adherence to the required staff-child ratios. Not only is it a violation of NC State Law to exceed the statutory guidelines of staff-child ratios, but it jeopardizes the safety of the children. If your child was injured while in the care of a day care center, our Charlotte day care injury lawyers can inform you of your rights and options during your free consultation.

Injuries To Children At Day Care

The leading cause of injuries to children at day care centers is inadequate supervision. A single distraction of a staff member can mean a serious injury for your child. Imagine the scenario where the caregiver is distracted and a child starts to climb on something and falls from a height, or pulls something down on himself, or worse. In September 2013, a three year old attending a day care in Lancaster, SC was airlifted to Charlotte’s Levine Children’s Hospital after nearly hanging himself while on the center’s playground. The day care director said that one end of a jump rope that the boy had tied around the top slide had “somehow” wound up around the boy’s neck and caused the boy to choke as he slid down the slide. This case of improper supervision was not the first for this particular facility, which had 11 previous complaints for failing to report incidents to DSS and for improper supervision.

Hiring an Experienced Day Care Injury Law Firm

We know that your child’s welfare is the most important thing to you. Partner Arlene Auger is the lead trial attorney on day care injury cases at Auger & Auger. Having two children of her own attend day care, she is committed to fighting for the rights of day care victims. Attorney Auger has dedicated the past 20 years to protecting the rights of children injured at day care and has made several substantial settlements and awards for her clients. “If your child was injured while under the supervision of a day care facility, you may be entitled to recover damages from the day care center. Once you retain our services, we will investigate the accident, the facility, and the employees to determine fault. If the day care center was negligent, we will fight for your rights to compensation for your child’s injury including pain and suffering, permanent injury, medical bills (past and future) and your lost income while caring for your child,” attorney Arlene Auger said.

Day Care Responsibilities Under North Carolina Law

All North Carolina day care centers must be licensed under North Carolina law and conform to strict rules laid out by the Department of Social Services. These rules can be found at Childcare Handbook. When a center meets the minimum statutory requirements, it is awarded a one-star license. When a facility voluntarily meets higher standards, it may be awarded a license with between two and five stars. To find specific information such as the star rating on a particular facility, visit the NC Childcare Search.

Failure of Day Care Centers to Keep Their Facilities Aligned with State Law

The unfortunate reality of many day care centers is that they do not keep up with state regulations. The DSS visits each day care center in North Carolina twice a year unannounced, and the department also relicenses each facility during an additional visit. The reason for these investigations is to notify day care centers of violations and subsequently, the DSS can monitor and work with the facility to make sure those violations are corrected.