Scared We'll Get Sued :(

[Christina72684]

We had a 3yr old boy get hurt a week and a half ago. Long story short he went into our nap room by himself for less than 30 seconds and came out with blood pouring out of his mouth. We looked in his mouth but couldn't tell where the blood was coming from. We stopped it and called his parents who were already on their way anyways for normal pick up. They took him home and looked down his throat with a flashlight and saw two lacerations. They took him to the ER and he had to have minor surgery to put stitches in his throat. He hasn't returned because he's still on a liquid diet until the stitches come out. We've called the parents every other day to check up on him. Of course they would be the one family that hasn't ever really warmed up to us very well. (Supposedly he was potty trained before he came to us a month ago and now he's not and they're not happy about it)

Could they sue us?

[Live and Learn]

I'm so sorry for him and you. Good luck to you all. Did he swallow something?

[itlw8]

anyone can sue the question will they win.

Please tell us you do have insurance. Often people will just take what the ins pays but who knows.

I would make sure all your ducks are in a row they could make a complaint to licensing or the dr could have

Did you figure out what could have caused it?

[Chipmunk]

Document everything. What happened, what you saw, what he said happened, your policy about children in the nap room unattended/leaving the group's activity, etc. Also, how the child was behaving before the incident - was he tired? Was he out of control? Was he calm?

Do you know what happened? Did he swallow something? Get hurt on something? Did he fall of a bed or something?

[Crystal]

You need to throughly inspect that nap room. Are there staples on the walls, or cords that are stapled to the baseboards? Do any appear to be missing or loose? If there are no staples (which there shouldn't be) are there thumbtacks anywhere in the room?

If he had lacerations to the throat, and it required stitches, and the FIRST sign of blood was when he came out of the nap room, then it indicates that he got SOMETHING in that nap room and put it in his mouth.

The scary/sad reality is that, yes, you can be sued. Document everything, throughly inspect the nap room (which I hope you did when he came out of there bleeding), make sure there are no staples, tacks, etc. to prevent additional issues, and be prepared for an inspection.

Also, I don't know about your state, but in California, if something like this occurred in a FCCH or a center, we are required to report it to licensing. If you're not required too, it may be a good idea to do so anyway.

Good luck.

[Cat Herder]

Definitely call licensing and have them do an inspection ASAP, as Crystal said.

The most important thing is to find out what happened and prevent it from happening again.

I would keep that room off limits until I had an answer.

[countrymom]

who's not to say that he grabbed something and hid it in his hand and went to the nap room to eat it. It could be a million things, he could have also brought something from home too and had it in his pocket.
all I can give you is big hugs.

[crazydaycarelady]

I had a dcg trip and fall on my dog while he was eating and he bit her in the face. She required stictches. The family was very cool about it and I just paid for what their cost was (which was $140 including anitbiotics.) Like I said they were a cool family and this was their 4th child so they understand that things happen.

I would be prepared to pay for whatever insurance doesn't cover. Really what would they be suing you for - besides their expenses?

[Christina72684]

The worst part of this thing is.....he's 3yrs old but doesn't talk. I think he has hearing problems because he can make some sounds and some muffled words, but nothing comes out clearly. So when we asked him what happened he couldn't tell us.

We searched EVERYWHERE in that room. The only thing that's in there are 2 pack n plays, 8 little cots, 2 glidder rocking chairs, changing table, and a couple of book shelves that hold diapers, wipes, blankets, etc. I almost wonder if he shoved his fingers in his mouth and his nails scratched him. From what we've heard from the parents, the doctor said it had to be something big. I'm assuming they Xrayed his stomach to make sure he didn't swallow anything. But I just don't get how we couldn't find anything. We clean up that room after nap, so everything was nice and straight.

We called licensing right away, filled out an incident report, and mailed it to State. Our consultant came out and acted like everything would be okay. I'm just afraid if they sue us we'll lose everything. But wouldn't they have to prove neglect? Our licensing handbook says that kids have to be within ear shot at all times, and he was. My worker was probably only 20-30 feet away from him in the other room and our doorways don't have doors on them. Since the incident we've installed a gate to keep kids out, and to show that we'll do anything to keep this from happening again.

We haven't heard from the parents in a while. I don't know if that's a good sign or bad. If they are sueing us, wouldn't their lawyer tell them not to talk to us?

[Cat Herder]

IMHO, it sounds like you did everything that we are supposed to do. That should help you significantly if you do end up in court. You have covered your bases very well and have documentable proof that you were in compliance.

Accidents happen.

FWIW, The last time I saw an injury like that it was from falling on a child sized broom from the home-life center. It was lodged in the back of the child's mouth and bled like a sieve when the child yanked it out. I don't think manufacturers have those metal hanger pieces on the handles because of those types of injuries, now. This was back in the '80s.

[countrymom]

that might make sense. Sounds to me like he may be delayed too. I wonder if this has happened at home. And also, (my brain in on overload) would he be choking if it was something big, would you not have found vomit on the floor. So is he known to put things in his mouth. I hate when you don't hear anything from the parents, a million things go thru your head.

[Crystal]

The worst part of this thing is.....he's 3yrs old but doesn't talk. I think he has hearing problems because he can make some sounds and some muffled words, but nothing comes out clearly. So when we asked him what happened he couldn't tell us.

We searched EVERYWHERE in that room. The only thing that's in there are 2 pack n plays, 8 little cots, 2 glidder rocking chairs, changing table, and a couple of book shelves that hold diapers, wipes, blankets, etc. I almost wonder if he shoved his fingers in his mouth and his nails scratched him. From what we've heard from the parents, the doctor said it had to be something big. I'm assuming they Xrayed his stomach to make sure he didn't swallow anything. But I just don't get how we couldn't find anything. We clean up that room after nap, so everything was nice and straight.

We called licensing right away, filled out an incident report, and mailed it to State. Our consultant came out and acted like everything would be okay. I'm just afraid if they sue us we'll lose everything. But wouldn't they have to prove neglect? Our licensing handbook says that kids have to be within ear shot at all times, and he was. My worker was probably only 20-30 feet away from him in the other room and our doorways don't have doors on them. Since the incident we've installed a gate to keep kids out, and to show that we'll do anything to keep this from happening again.

We haven't heard from the parents in a while. I don't know if that's a good sign or bad. If they are sueing us, wouldn't their lawyer tell them not to talk to us?

Good job covering all the bases. It sounds like you have been very careful about following procedure and that is a very good thing! Putting the gate up as an added precaution was a great solution to prevent it from happening again.

When was the last time you had contact with the parents? Did they say he was not returning and pay the final fees or anything? If it has been awhile, I would probably try to contact them to check in on the child. If it has been awhile, and you haven't recieved a licensing complaint, you are probably fine, because typically the first thing a parent who might sue would do is call licensing.

I hope it all blows over soon, I can only imagine how stressful this is for you. Virtual hugs, and best wishes!

[Christina72684]

We talked to them Wednesday afternoon and my mom (who is the co-owner with me and is the one who has been in contact with them through this) said that the dad was very short with his answers. "How is he doing?" "Fine." "Please tell him we all miss him very much" "Ok." But like I said, they were never very totally friendly people to start. Oh and they are foster parents (this is their child though), so you'd think that they are the type of people who want to help kids and stuff, and they know that's why we do what we do....for the kids.

I thought if it was something large in his mouth, my worker would have heard him choking or coughing. But instead she heard no noise at all until he came out of the room and into the kitchen where she was, and that's when he started crying and she saw the blood.

I wish in a way I would have been the one working at that moment and saw everything, but then again I don't. I just want this to be over. I don't even care if they don't come back and don't pay that last week he was here. Just as long as this doesn't cost us a ton of money and we don't lose our business.

Wanna hear something ironic? We've NEVER had any sort of accident, reports made to State, etc at all in the year and a half we've been opened.....but exactly a week before this happened, a kid's grandma called and warned us that another family called licensing and CPS on us because her one-year-old who started walking too early and is very unstable fell and his his head on something which caused a bruise and a small cut. She told licensing that we're always under staff (lie b/c we always have more people than what's required), we don't have a fence (lie b/c you can't be a licensed daycare without one), and one day she picked up her kid in the evening and the daycare worker was asleep on the couch (MAJOR lie b/c how in the world would that happen with all the kids running around?!)........She's also 42 years old with 4 kids ages 1-17 and has had them in a total of 6 daycares! Wish I woulda known that before I accepted them! What burns me the most is she never once complained to us at all. She even said he's accident prone and falls all the time at home!

[DaisyMamma]

It's awful to be in that situation. Make sure all your ducks are in a row and your center is in tip top shape. Document everything that happened.

[Blackcat31]

If I were in your shoes, I would simply call and talk with the mom or dad. I know you said they aren't really a warm, chatty family with you but honestly this no discussion or non-speaking thing would drive me batty.

I like to solve things right awya and cannot fathom sitting around and waiting for the shoe to drop, kwim? I would simply call them up and say to them, that you feel horrible about the whole thing and want to know their feelings about the situation as well as making sure you are both working together to address the situation. I would lay it all out there that it has been a terribly scary time for you and you have never had anything like this happen before and really don't want to just sit around waiting to find out their plans.

I just couldn't sit on all this. That is just me though and I guess how people handle things is definitely personal but maybe just starting a frank open honest dialect about the whole thing will be helpful to BOTH you and the family.