Making ends meet on a single income has become increasingly difficult over the last several years. Though the norm of a few decades ago was for the father to sustain the household while the mother stayed at home and took care of the children and the house, this isn’t possible for most families these days.
Since the ever-growing financial crunch has spread to virtually all age groups, Grandma isn’t as readily available to provide child care while both parents are at work as she once was, either.
All this leaves more families than ever before turning to daycare centers for help. In Massachusetts alone, an estimated 54 percent of families have enrolled their children in public and private facilities with more than 14 million children across the nation attending daycare programs.
This uptick has also led to a surging number of children being injured at daycare centers each year.
Taking a Closer Look at the Statistics
According to a recent news write-up, approximately 150 children are injured in daycare centers each year in Massachusetts.
Furthermore, at least one child dies as a result of such injuries. In some cases, parents aren’t notified of these accidents when they take place.
Childcare providers often aren’t even able to explain how or why the injuries occurred because they’re either not paying attention when it happens or overloaded with more children than they can handle. Both issues are neither legal nor acceptable.
Examining the Paperwork
Most parents feel they have few options when it comes to seeking justice or compensation after their children are injured at a daycare facility.
After all, they’re typically required to sign a waiver of liability before enrolling their children in such programs. This essentially relieves the facility of any responsibility for injuries occurring on their property.
Although this would appear to leave injury victims in the lurch and absolve daycare centers of any reparations or disciplinary measures, how daycare businesses are affected by accidents may surprise you.
Reading Between the Lines
In truth, daycare centers are impacted by accidents from a number of angles.
Here in the digital age, word of children being injured while under the supervision of childcare providers tends to spread quickly. This alone can easily damage the facility’s reputation and bring about a downturn in its income.
Along those same lines, people aren’t hesitant about posting detailed negative reviews on business websites and consumer interest sites.
Also keep in mind, legal ramifications aren’t out of the question in situations like these. Contrary to popular belief, those liability or indemnity clauses contained in release forms are essentially null and void.
In the legal world, if such clauses held water, they would essentially give daycare providers complete freedom to act negligently and irresponsibly with no regard for the safety of the children in their care.
By law, it’s not reasonable to expect or allow parents to sign away their children’s rights to compensation before an injury even occurs. Getting help from Garrity Insurance could be essential to the survival of those centers following an injury.
Bottom Line
Daycare facilities are allowed to keep those indemnity and liability clauses in their paperwork as a mere formality. They feel it offers them some level of protection.
This doesn’t mean parents can’t seek justice and compensation for their children if they’re injured at a daycare center. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the situation, the facility may very well be held accountable for the injuries and required to cover the costs of medical care and other ramifications.
Resulting reputation damage could leave the daycare center paying in far more ways in the long run.
Do you own a daycare center? Have you ever had to face legal action or damage to your reputation due to an accident on your premises?
