What you should know: Daycare injuries
When parents drop their children off at daycare, they trust caregivers to provide a safe, nurturing environment. Unfortunately, injuries at daycare facilities happen more often than most families realize, and they can leave lasting physical and emotional effects on a child. Understanding your rights—and the legal responsibilities of the daycare—is essential when something goes wrong.
The Standard of Care for Daycares
Under Kentucky law, childcare providers owe a duty of reasonable care to every child under their supervision. This means they must take steps to prevent foreseeable harm. Basic safety measures include maintaining clean, hazard-free play areas; hiring qualified, properly trained staff; supervising children at all times; and following state-mandated staff-to-child ratios. When a daycare fails to meet these standards, it can amount to negligence.
Examples include leaving children unattended on playground equipment, ignoring food allergy warnings, using unsafe cribs or toys, or failing to prevent bullying or rough play.
Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services also requires licensed daycares to maintain detailed incident records - another layer of accountability that can be crucial in a legal case.
How Often Daycares Are Sued
While not every daycare injury results in a lawsuit, claims against childcare providers are more common than many parents realize. According to national data, daycare-related injuries send thousands of children to emergency rooms each year. Falls, choking incidents, playground accidents, and physical abuse are among the most frequent causes. In many instances, families pursue legal action when they discover that an injury was preventable - stemming from poor supervision, inadequate training, or ignored safety standards.
Most daycare injury cases settle before trial, often through insurance negotiations. However, serious injuries such as broken bones, head trauma, or emotional distress may justify pursuing civil litigation to recover medical expenses, therapy costs, and pain and suffering.
Experienced attorneys can help families navigate these complex cases and hold negligent facilities accountable.
Why Choose Ward & Simms, PLLC
At Ward & Simms, PLLC, we understand that few things are more devastating than seeing your child hurt in a place that was supposed to keep them safe.
Our Louisville-based legal team has extensive experience handling child injury and daycare negligence cases throughout Kentucky. We know how to investigate daycare operations, obtain state inspection reports, and consult with childcare experts to build a strong case for your family. We approach every case with compassion and determination. We fight for full and fair compensation while helping parents find answers and peace of mind.
If your child was injured at a daycare, you don’t have to face the situation alone. Contact Ward & Simms, PLLC today at 502.654.9977 for a free consultation. Let us help you protect your child’s future and hold negligent daycare providers accountable.
