2-year old broken arm at daycare

[Lilacs4Me]

My sister called - my 2 year old neice's arm broken at daycare by her teacher. She turned 2 in Feb.

My sister picked K up from daycare Monday and found her crying and holding her arm. The teachers said they didn't see anything happen, but she's been babying that arm all afternoon. No incident report was made and my sister was not called because as they said "Nothing seemed unusual". They changed their story with BIL when he called, and told him that they took her temp after nap because she wasn't acting normal, but she didn't have a fever so they didn't call them.

My sister took K to the ER and after spending hours there and having xrays taken, they found out it was broken. CPS got involved because it is VERY hard for a TINY 27-lb 2 year old to break something and not have an adult who is in a daycare room with a 1:4 ratio notice something happened or be able to piece together at least a plausable scenario of the chain-of-events that would lead up to such an injury.

The investigation was completed and it was found that the head teacher broke K's arm by yanking on it to pull her back, which caused K to sit/fall down while the teacher was still holding her arm, which cracked her bone. This teacher lied to cover herself for three days and made it seem like she had no idea what happened. Another teacher had witnessed her do it, thank god, and spoke up.

If that is not bad enough, my sister and BIL finally talked to the owner - who at first wouldn't answer their calls and had a front-desk girl call them instead - and the owner said: (quoted from my sister's text):

"She 'apologized' and asked when K was going to be back. I told her if/when she comes back, she needs to be put with different teachers. She said "May I ask why? Just so you know, that teacher is taking a 30 day leave, or until this investigation is over. A lot of tears were shed here today. Those CPS workers were really hard on them. This is affecting more than you guys and those teachers, it affects me too, because I am the owner and have to pay the consequences"

Then a little while later, a front desk girl called on behalf of the owner and asked to set up a meeting so they could "talk things through". My sister told her she was not interested in talking about anything and K will never be back.

I'm not sure what the next steps are or should be...I'm pretty sure my sister will be talking to a lawyer. And I want that teacher fired, not just put on leave!!!

So sick in so many different ways.

ETA:
And this wasn't some shady operation - my sister lives in a fairly affluent area and this daycare has all of the bells and whistles to make it "pretty". But obviously expensive playground equpment and brightly colored decor doesn't matter when you have people like that working there.

 

[Mizzoufan]

I'd probably be in jail if someone hurt my baby. Prayers for your family

 

[mnrose]

I'd be most disturbed by the lying about it. Although I *can* see why it would happen with no fault of the teacher. Who among us has not yanked our child back from a dangerous situation? I KNOW I have. Accidents happen. And, I get that.

But, the lying? That would upset me. And, I'd probably be looking for a different preschool.

Different issue, though, as to whether there would be civil liability for it. If the "pulling" on the child's arm was for a legitimate reason, then there is not fault or liability for it.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I suppose that your sister and BIL will need to file charges on the daycare.

The fact that the teacher covered it up and allowed your niece to be IN PAIN with a broken arm in their care would have me go after them like a rabid dog for the kill.

 

[lifesavacation]

Wow. Not sure what to say about the business owner. My response would be to fire the teacher (since it was PROVEN that she broke the arm) and then do some major PR work to retrain staff and reassure parents.

Not sure about the next steps. I would probably let law enforcement handle it before I stepped in with a lawyer. At the very least, the daycare would be paying for all the bills.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

She should contact a lawyer.
I would pursue charges with DCF for the teacher, and make sure it is noted in the school's record.
I would most definitely be pulling the child from that daycare, and pursue having the daycare pay for every bit of the child's medical care, as well as any loss of income the parents receive, due to medical appointments and lack of childcare.

ETA: If it were an accident, and the teacher was up front about it, then I would be willing to cut them some slack. Things do happen. DD#2 (age 3) was on the playground at daycare, went down the slide, tumbled off the end, and dislocated her elbow. The teacher called the director, who went straight to the ER, had it popped back in; and called us as soon as they were on their way to the ER.
I didn't blame the daycare, as it was an accident. The teacher was right there by the slide, but DD tumbled off and used her arm to stop her fall. (This particular daycare had cameras everywhere, except the restrooms. So, I got to see what actually happened.) The daycare offered to cover the medical bills, but we only asked them to take off the deductible from the cost of her daycare, and used our insurance to pay the bill.

But in this case, the teacher did it, and then lied about it. I would be raising holy heck over this.

 

[L&Lfan]

Sounds like it could have been an accident, but that doesn't excuse the cover-up.

 

[Meeko5]

Oh hell no. She hurt a child, lied about it, and now the owner is trying to make the family feel guilty? I'd be calling a lawyer and that woman should never be allowed to work with children. Accidents happen, sure. But to lie and cover it up? Nope. Not ok.

I hope your niece is ok, what a horrible situation

 

[mjkacmom]

I'd be most disturbed by the lying about it. Although I *can* see why it would happen with no fault of the teacher. Who among us has not yanked our child back from a dangerous situation? I KNOW I have. Accidents happen. And, I get that.

But, the lying? That would upset me. And, I'd probably be looking for a different preschool.

Different issue, though, as to whether there would be civil liability for it. If the "pulling" on the child's arm was for a legitimate reason, then there is not fault or liability for it.

I agree. The incident was an accident, but the lying? We wouldn't be back.

 

[luvsJack]

The covering it up is what I would be the most livid about.

Grabbing a child back from something and the child (especially a 2 year old) sitting or even laying down suddenly does happen a lot. Dd did it to DH when he grabbed her to keep another kid from running over her on the playground. She threw herself down because she was mad. It didn't break but it did cause a "nurse maid's elbow" that scared us to no end. So that is very explainable.

The lying and covering up is not. Your sister should have been called immediately and the owner present when she picked up her dd. And of course their insurance should pay for every thing.

I would not ask for someone to be fired over the initial accident but I would expect if over the lying and covering up.

 

[DopeyDame]

Since CPS is already involved, and assuming your niece has good insurance coverage, I wouldn't immediately go to a lawyer. It sounds like "nursemaid's elbow" and it happens. It's horrid, but it isn't necessarily a sign of abuse. So now that CPS is investigating the daycare, I feel like I'd be reassured that the other kids there are safe, which would be my primary concern (once I got over the initial insanity, of course) And as long as I wasn't out of pocket for a lot of money, I wouldn't really see the point in any lawsuit at least until the CPS investigation is over (depending on what they find and how it's handled)

As for the lying and coverup - I would absolutely be telling other parents and no way would my kid return there.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I'm not typically sue-happy, but I would advise your sister to hire a lawyer. If the teacher had been forthcoming about the accident then I wouldn't be as agressive, but the fact that she tried to cover her own butt rather than make sure the child was ok tells me she is a horrible person and deserves to be punished. She should not be working with children. And the daycare owner should not be trying to make your sister feel guilty about anything. The teacher and the daycare owner should be accepting full blame. Your sister and niece did nothing wrong.

Your sister should be able to recover all the medical costs, as well as lost time off work, and cost of driving to and from appts, etc.

No way would I be sending my child back to that daycare. I'd probably also be talking to a few news stations.

 

[lorimay]

Are camera's present in the school?
I know a lot of school's here have camera's in the classroom, In one school the parent can log on to the computer and watch the room live at any time.

I'm sorry for your niece, hope she heals quickly. Poor little thing.

 

[kamik86]

I agree that hiring a lawyer would be the best option.

I was a camp counselor and will be honest a few times I had to stop a kid by grabbing them (when its that or let them run into the camp fire I'll take the risk) but to then lie about it is where this becomes a serious issue.

If your sister had been called immediately and the teacher apologized and felt horrible I would call this accidents happen. As it stands I would be encouraging them to contact a lawyer as well. Even if your niece will never be back I would feel horrible if I didn't pursue the school and a year or two down the line found out someone else got hurt.

 

[kamik86]

I'm not typically sue-happy, but I would advise your sister to hire a lawyer. If the teacher had been forthcoming about the accident then I wouldn't be as agressive, but the fact that she tried to cover her own butt rather than make sure the child was ok tells me she is a horrible person and deserves to be punished. She should not be working with children. And the daycare owner should not be trying to make your sister feel guilty about anything. The teacher and the daycare owner should be accepting full blame. Your sister and niece did nothing wrong.

Your sister should be able to recover all the medical costs, as well as lost time off work, and cost of driving to and from appts, etc.

No way would I be sending my child back to that daycare. I'd probably also be talking to a few news stations.

I almost said that I would also be making sure everyone I knew was told what happened, however she should talk to the Lawyer first, the Lawyer may advise against that action until the suit is a bit further along.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

I'd probably be in jail if someone hurt my baby. Prayers for your family

I told DH last night that they are lucky I don't live near there or I would be up there in a second! I was a preschool teacher for several years when my kids were little and I know what it's like when a child gets hurt at daycare - you fall all over yourself to apologize to the parents and take good care of the kids if they get hurt! I ran the school-aged latchkey at my school for a while and so I would sub with the babies/toddlers in the AM sometimes (which I loved because DD was there!), and once a little 2 year old boy jumped off a very small toddler climber right in front of me. He cried and it looked like he bit his lip, so we comforted him, cleaned him up and gave him an ice pack, and wrote up a little report. He was still fussy at lunchtime about an hour later, and I finally got a good look at the inside of his mouth (he wouldn't open his mouth up for me when it first happened) and he had a big, deep cut on his tongue. We immediately called his mom and told her what happened and she was annoyed that we waited an hour! We felt horrible and made sure we told her every detail of what happened and how sorry we were that we didn't realize how bad the cut was before that

So, the reaction of the owner and workers at my niece's daycare absolutely infuriates me.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

My child would NEVER be going there again.

I'd be contacting a lawyer immediately and talking to the police as well.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

I'd be most disturbed by the lying about it. Although I *can* see why it would happen with no fault of the teacher. Who among us has not yanked our child back from a dangerous situation? I KNOW I have. Accidents happen. And, I get that.

But, the lying? That would upset me. And, I'd probably be looking for a different preschool.

Different issue, though, as to whether there would be civil liability for it. If the "pulling" on the child's arm was for a legitimate reason, then there is not fault or liability for it.

They were in the classroom. There was no danger. From what my sister indicated, my neice kept getting up from her cot at naptime so the teacher was sitting near her and pulling her back onto it.

No danger. And I'm sure there was better ways to do it. Accident, yes, intentional breaking of a bone, no. But completely irresponsible and reckless - absolutely. And she knew it because she lied for three days that she had no idea how the injury could have happened.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Since CPS is already involved, and assuming your niece has good insurance coverage, I wouldn't immediately go to a lawyer. It sounds like "nursemaid's elbow" and it happens. It's horrid, but it isn't necessarily a sign of abuse. So now that CPS is investigating the daycare, I feel like I'd be reassured that the other kids there are safe, which would be my primary concern (once I got over the initial insanity, of course) And as long as I wasn't out of pocket for a lot of money, I wouldn't really see the point in any lawsuit at least until the CPS investigation is over (depending on what they find and how it's handled)

As for the lying and coverup - I would absolutely be telling other parents and no way would my kid return there.

It's not nurse-maid's elbow. The xrays clearly showed a break. She is in a cast.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Are camera's present in the school?
I know a lot of school's here have camera's in the classroom, In one school the parent can log on to the computer and watch the room live at any time.

I'm sorry for your niece, hope she heals quickly. Poor little thing.

The owner said that the school was wired for cameras, but they were never installed, so unfortunately, no video footage.