Do I Have to Pay for Their Mistake

[MrsParker]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to get some insight on my situation. My daughter had temperature of 101. The daycare called me at work, i told them to give her some medicine(which I keep in her bag ) and give me a call back in about 15 minutes to let me know if it went down. She called me back in 30 minutes saying she didnt give her any medicine and now her temperature is 105. I went and picked her up. Not even 10 minutes later my daughter had a seizure. Now I was very very upset knowing that it could've been prevented if she would have called me back immediately and said that i had to sign a waiver for them to give my daughter medicine. Well my daughter was out for two weeks. They admitted that is was their fault and the owner fired the lady that was in charge of my daughters care. But I get a letter saying i owe 390 dollars for my daughter being out for two weeks. Can I fight this?

[kendallina]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to get some insight on my situation. My daughter had temperature of 101. The daycare called me at work, i told them to give her some medicine(which I keep in her bag ) and give me a call back in about 15 minutes to let me know if it went down. She called me back in 30 minutes saying she didnt give her any medicine and now her temperature is 105. I went and picked her up. Not even 10 minutes later my daughter had a seizure. Now I was very very upset knowing that it could've been prevented if she would have called me back immediately and said that i had to sign a waiver for them to give my daughter medicine. Well my daughter was out for two weeks. They admitted that is was their fault and the owner fired the lady that was in charge of my daughters care. But I get a letter saying i owe 390 dollars for my daughter being out for two weeks. Can I fight this?

I'm so sorry that you and your daughter had to go through this. Something like this happening to your daughter would be stressful enough, but knowing that it may have been preventable must be infuriating.

If you signed a contract stating that you are responsible to pay for days that your daughter is out sick, then I think you'd be held legally responsible for that.

Why exactly was she out for 2 whole weeks? Did her fever continue that long? Was she in the hospital? Was she sick that whole time or did you keep her out because you were angry at the center (not judging, just asking, because I know I'd be upset).

As a former director, if something like this happened at my center, I would possibly consider waiving fee (or partial fee) for the days that it was necessary she stayed home. But, it seems that two weeks is a LONG time and I wonder if the director is thinking that she stayed out longer than needed...sorry if I'm assuming anything, I just don't know the whole story.

Hope that perspective helps, I'm sure others may have more input and more insight regarding whether legally there is anything you can do.

Good luck.
Katy

[Michael]

Fight it in small claims. They have acknowledged fault.

[momofboys]

My feeling is that even if the center had administered medicine in a timely manner this still could have happened. It sounds as though your child's temp spiked very rapidly. Medicine administered 10-15 min prior may not have been enough to help. It is not the center's fault that your child got sick. The seizure still could have occurred even after you had picked the child up. I am sad that this happened to your child & I do feel like the center should have called you back & gotten verbal permission to dispense medicine. However, just because you have a disagreement does not allow you to ignore a signed contract. Did you contact the center at all to tell them your child would not be present? Just asking because I am not sure whether you mentioned notifying them. If I was the center's owner I am not sure why it would be their fault. I agree to a point that medicine should have been given to your child but if anything it would have delayed this from happening, it still could have occurred. Would you blame the center if they gave the meds & your child still got sick?

[Former Teacher]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to get some insight on my situation. My daughter had temperature of 101. The daycare called me at work, i told them to give her some medicine(which I keep in her bag ) and give me a call back in about 15 minutes to let me know if it went down. She called me back in 30 minutes saying she didnt give her any medicine and now her temperature is 105. I went and picked her up. Not even 10 minutes later my daughter had a seizure. Now I was very very upset knowing that it could've been prevented if she would have called me back immediately and said that i had to sign a waiver for them to give my daughter medicine. Well my daughter was out for two weeks. They admitted that is was their fault and the owner fired the lady that was in charge of my daughters care. But I get a letter saying i owe 390 dollars for my daughter being out for two weeks. Can I fight this?

I needed to give my 2 cents on this

Not to be rude or anything but I blame both you and the center. I blame you because if the child is running a fever (101!!!!!) and yet you tell the center to give her medicine and to call YOU back. Why didn't you go get her right away? Why wait over 30 mins?

I blame the center because they allowed this child to suffer without the medicine anyway.

At my former center when a child had a fever that high, depending on the age of the child, yes we would give the child a fever reducer upon request of the parent. The parent was/is required to pick up the child immediately once a temp reached 100.4. Regardless of whether or not we did give the medicine, the child still needed to be picked up.

As for you paying I don't know much about laws etc. I do know that yes had you been in my former center you still would have been charged.

[mac60]

Many centers and providers will not give meds of any kind, maybe there was an underlying reason they chose not to give her the tylenol. You should have came and picked the child up immediately. For your daughter to be out 2 weeks, there must of been something very wrong with her, much more than just a temp, and obviously no tylenol was going to fix what ever was wrong with her.

[MyAngels]

First of all, I'm sorry that your child was so sick, that must have been very stressful.

I know here in Illinois a daycare provider cannot give medicine of any kind (OTC or prescription) without consent in writing from the parent or legal guardian, and there is a form that's filled out for all daycare situations that covers this. Reading between the lines in your post, it sounds like it could have been a situation where there was no consent on file with the center and therefore they could not administer medicine to your child.

As far as whether you are responsible for the time your child was out, I guess you could fight it in small claims court and let the judge decide.

[missnikki]

Well, I hate to take this position, but I agree with the other providers that say it isn't the center's fault.

What would you have done if they would have given her the medicine, and when you picked her up, she had a seizure? They would be left holding the Hot Potato after administering meds without written consent (in my state that's a BIG NO-NO) and they may be liable for hospital bills.

If she's so sick that meds need to be snuck into the diaper bag....well....I would say that is YOU admitting fault.

[Unregistered]

If you where in my daycare and I called you because you told me to give your child medcinie I would of made it clear that you need to pick up your child within 30 minutes of my call as children in my care with a fever of 101 or higher are not premitted in daycare and they have to be fever free for 24 hours before returning to care Im gonna ssume the tyleonl was in the bag because she already had as fever and you tried to hide it with tylenol I say its your fault and you have to pay 2 weeks owed if you signed a contract it sounds like you are looking to sue to get some money and you dont wanna pay daycare.

[Unregistered]

Well Miss Nikki meds werent snuck into her bag. i always keep fever reducer just in case. She only goes to daycare 3 days a week. The emergency room doctor advised me not to take my daughter back to daycare until she visited her primary care physician. It seems to me your just like the other daycares. Money First! Kids second.

[missnikki]

Well Miss Nikki meds werent snuck into her bag. i always keep fever reducer just in case. She only goes to daycare 3 days a week. The emergency room doctor advised me not to take my daughter back to daycare until she visited her primary care physician. It seems to me your just like the other daycares. Money First! Kids second.

I will just say this:
Daycare providers do what they do because they love children, and have a knack for guiding them through the early stages in life. It is a business, though, and while we all sympathize with your daughter's illness, please don't lose focus of the relationship between you and your provider.
Not everyone will admit it, but money is required to watch your child. That is how it works. If your child was out with lice, you would owe the money. If she were out with flu, you would owe the money. Are we supposed to draw a definitive line at some degree of illness that makes it a humanitarian cause rather than our livelihood? Sorry to sound callous- I'm saddened to hear that your daughter fell ill- but I urge you to look at it as a contract relationship, and not be so quick to judge your provider without bringing it to them to ask if something can be worked out. Most of us are human, after all.

[JenNJ]

Do you really think that a ever reducer would have taken effect within 30 minutes? I have never seen one drop a temperature that drastically in 30 minutes, if at all. And febrile seizures are common and not preventable. So even if the daycare did give your daughter the fever reducer, she still would have had the seizure. It is not their fault. They called, you waited. The seizure would have happened no matter how things played out.

It wasn't their decision to keep her home for two weeks, it was yours. Pay them what you owe them since you signed a contract. Yes, daycares are in the BUSINESS of caring for children in exchange for money. Just like any other business we expect to be paid on time when there is a signed contract in place. We love what we do, but we do it to earn a living. I bet you paid your mortgage this month even though your daughter was sick, why do you think that daycare is a negotiable bill?

[MrsParker]

Who said anything about sueing the daycare? I have no problem paying for services that are provided. But Why did they fire the lady in charge of my daughters care? Why did they admit fault? It seems you Providers are all the same. This may come as a shock to u all, but the daycare actually agreed with me. "I dont have to pay for their mistake". Thanks for the input though. I now know what comes first for Providers.

[missnikki]

Who said anything about sueing the daycare? .

You did: "Can I fight this?"

I have no problem paying for services that are provided. But Why did they fire the lady in charge of my daughters care? Why did they admit fault?

Because there is always more to the story. If only we could ask them.

It seems you Providers are all the same.

Flattery gets you nowhere.

This may come as a shock to u all, but the daycare actually agreed with me. "I dont have to pay for their mistake".

Not a shock, just one of several possible resolutions to your question. That's good that you were able to get them to remove the charge. I still do not understand how it was something that they did so wrong that someone got fired over it. Perhaps it wasn't explained well.

Thanks for the input though. I now know what comes first for Providers.

We learned what comes first for you. Next time, pick up your child when she has a fever. Don't waste precious time turning a buck at work waiting for the tylenol fairy to make the fever (and any underlying problem) magically disappear.

[MyAngels]

Who said anything about sueing the daycare? I have no problem paying for services that are provided. But Why did they fire the lady in charge of my daughters care? Why did they admit fault? It seems you Providers are all the same. This may come as a shock to u all, but the daycare actually agreed with me. "I dont have to pay for their mistake". Thanks for the input though. I now know what comes first for Providers.

One thing you should keep in mind as your child grows up - there can be complications even years down the road from febrile seizures. There was a news story just this week about a young man who died while playing football and they've somehow linked it to a febrile seizure when he was very young. Oh, and the next time the daycare provider that you've entrusted your most precious child to calls you to tell you that your little one has a fever, get yourself over there and pick her up instead of expecting them to mask her symptoms with Tylenol.