A recent series of St. Louis Post-Dispatch articles have focused on the lack of accountability surrounding child care providers in Missouri. The articles highlighted the specific dangers of using in-home care providers, but the same concerns also apply to institutional providers such as church-run or private companies who provide daycare services.
Parents who use child care providers should ask a series of questions before entrusting their children to their care:
1. Does the provider carry liability insurance?
2. Does the provider have proof of liability coverage?
3. Does the provider use background checks?
4. What training does the staff receive?
The Post-Dispatch articles focused on the high incidence of infant suffocation, but children have also been injured when dropped or shaken. The common denominator in most accidents was a lack of supervision or a violation of the limit on the number of children supervised. The State of Missouri imposes limits on home daycare providers and prohibits those providers from caring for more than four (4) children who are unrelated to the provider.
Parents whose children are injured while in the custody of a home daycare provider may face problems in seeking compensation as many homeowner policies exclude daycare activities from coverage. If a home owner’s policy excludes coverage for injury to children left in the house, then the parents would likely recover nothing for injury to their children.
If your child has been injured due to the negligence of a daycare center or home daycare provider, call the Meehan Law Firm for legal advice, or how to proceed.