What Happens if a Child Is Injured at a Daycare in New York?

Every morning, parents across New York drop their children off at daycare with the same silent hope: that they will be safe, cared for, and happy until pickup time. Daycare is a relationship built on trust. When a child is hurt under the care of a facility that promised to protect them, that trust is broken in the most painful way.

If your child has been injured at daycare, you deserve clear answers about what happened, who is responsible, and how to protect your family’s rights. Hill & Moin LLP has decades of experience representing injured children and their families across New York, and this guide walks through the legal process from start to finish.

You deserve a law firm that prioritizes your safety and recovery.

New York’s Daycare Safety Regulations

New York State has strict regulations for licensed childcare centers, enforced by the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). These regulations cover staff-to-child ratios, background checks, facility safety standards, emergency preparedness, and staff training requirements. When a daycare fails to follow OCFS regulations and a child is injured as a result, that failure can be strong evidence of negligence.

Consider a real-world type of scenario: a toddler wanders into an unlocked storage closet and suffers chemical burns from cleaning products left within reach. The questions that follow are the same ones many parents ask us: Why wasn’t the closet secured? Where was the supervision? Could this have been prevented?

Common Causes of Daycare Injuries

Daycare injuries are frequently traceable to one or more preventable failures, including:

• Inadequate supervision. A single caregiver overseeing far more children than OCFS-mandated staff-to-child ratios allow increases the risk that injuries go unnoticed or unprevented.
• Unsafe playgrounds and premises. Broken playground equipment, unsecured cabinets, exposed wiring, or poorly maintained facilities create hazards for young children.
• Staffing ratio violations. Understaffing is one of the most common and most preventable causes of daycare injuries.
• Negligent hiring. Employees hired without proper background checks, required certifications, or adequate training can pose a danger to children in their care.
• Abuse or neglect. In the most serious cases, physical abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect by staff members causes direct harm to a child.
• Failure to follow emergency procedures. Daycares are required to have clear protocols for medical emergencies, allergic reactions, and evacuations; failing to follow them can turn a manageable situation into a serious injury.
• Failure to accommodate known medical needs. Ignoring documented allergies, failing to administer prescribed medication, or disregarding a child’s medical care plan can lead to entirely preventable harm.

Each of these failures can support a negligence claim against the facility, and often more than one factor is involved in a single incident.

Common Types of Daycare Injuries

Injuries resulting from daycare negligence can range from minor to catastrophic, including:

• Fractures and broken bones from falls or playground accidents
• Burns from chemicals, hot surfaces, or food preparation areas
• Head injuries and concussions
• Choking or allergic reaction emergencies
• Injuries from physical abuse or excessive restraint
• Emotional trauma and psychological injury

The New York State Department of Health has noted that unintentional injury remains among the leading causes of hospitalization for children under 14, underscoring how important proper supervision and facility safety truly are.

Don’t wait—your future starts with one phone call.

Who Can Be Held Responsible?

New York law allows multiple parties to be held accountable for a daycare injury, depending on the facts of the case:

Potentially Liable Party	When They May Be Responsible
The daycare facility or corporation	Failing to meet OCFS staffing ratios, safety standards, or licensing requirements
Individual staff members	Direct acts of negligence, abuse, or failure to supervise
Property owners	Unsafe premises conditions if the daycare leases its space, similar to a premises liability claim
Equipment manufacturers	Defective playground equipment, furniture, or products that caused injury
Maintenance contractors	Failure to properly repair or maintain equipment or facility conditions
Security providers	Inadequate security measures allowing an unauthorized person to access the facility, similar to a negligent security claim

New York applies comparative negligence principles, meaning that responsibility—and the resulting damages—may be apportioned among multiple parties depending on each party’s share of fault. Identifying every liable party is often essential to recovering the full compensation your family deserves.

Evidence to Preserve After a Daycare Injury

After your child receives necessary medical attention, preserving evidence quickly can make a significant difference in your case. Important evidence includes:

• Incident reports. Licensed daycares are legally required to document injuries; request a copy in writing as soon as possible.
• Surveillance footage. Many daycare facilities have security cameras; footage can be overwritten quickly, so it should be requested immediately.
• Medical records. Documentation from your child’s treating physicians establishes the nature and extent of the injury.
• Witness statements. Other parents, staff members, or even other children may have seen what happened or can confirm unsafe conditions.
• Photographs. Images of your child’s injuries and of the environment where the incident occurred—broken equipment, unlocked cabinets, unsafe flooring—are often powerful evidence.
• Communications with the facility. Save emails, texts, and any written correspondence with daycare staff or administrators, both before and after the incident, including any prior complaints about safety concerns.

An experienced attorney can send preservation letters to the facility to ensure that surveillance footage, staffing records, and incident reports are not lost or discarded before they can be reviewed.

Insurance Coverage in Daycare Injury Claims

Licensed daycare facilities in New York are generally required to carry liability insurance, which may cover injuries resulting from negligence. Depending on the circumstances, coverage may come from:

• The daycare’s general liability insurance policy
• A separate policy covering the property, if the daycare leases its space
• Product liability insurance carried by an equipment manufacturer, if defective equipment contributed to the injury
• Umbrella or excess policies, in cases involving catastrophic injury

Insurance companies will often attempt to minimize payouts, which is one reason working with an experienced attorney can make a meaningful difference in the outcome of your claim.

What Compensation May Be Available?

Families of children injured due to daycare negligence may be entitled to recover damages such as:

• Medical expenses, including emergency treatment, ongoing care, and future rehabilitation
• Emotional distress and trauma counseling, for both the child and, in some cases, the family
• Loss of enjoyment of life, particularly for injuries with lasting effects
• Parental lost wages, if a parent had to miss work to care for an injured child
• Pain and suffering
• Long-term disability or catastrophic injury damages, if the injury results in a permanent or life-altering condition

Why Legal Help Matters

It can feel uncomfortable to consider legal action, especially if you’ve built a relationship with daycare staff. But pursuing accountability is about more than compensation. It’s about safety, answers, and ensuring the same failure doesn’t happen to another family’s child.

Hill & Moin LLP brings decades of experience advocating for injured children and their families throughout New York. Our multilingual team, fluent in Spanish, Russian, French, Yiddish, and Armenian, is here to make sure every family’s voice is heard and understood. We investigate thoroughly—reviewing incident reports, medical records, witness statements, and a facility’s licensing and complaint history—and we don’t stop until we understand exactly what went wrong and who is responsible.

We work on a contingency fee basis, so your family pays nothing unless we win.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I sue a daycare if my child was injured due to inadequate supervision? Yes. If a daycare violated OCFS staff-to-child ratio requirements or otherwise failed to properly supervise your child, you may have a valid negligence claim against the facility.
2. What if my child was injured by another child at daycare? Daycares are still responsible for reasonable supervision. If inadequate oversight allowed the incident to happen, the facility may share liability even though another child was directly involved.
3. Can I hold an individual staff member personally responsible? In cases involving direct negligence, abuse, or misconduct by a specific employee, that individual may be named in a claim in addition to the daycare facility itself.
4. What should I do first if my child is injured at daycare? Seek medical attention immediately, request a written incident report, take photographs, gather witness contact information, and consult a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
5. Does it matter if the daycare is licensed by OCFS? Yes. OCFS licensing requirements establish a baseline of care, and violations of those regulations can serve as strong evidence of negligence in a legal claim.
6. What if defective playground equipment caused my child’s injury? The equipment manufacturer or distributor may share liability under product liability law, in addition to any negligence claim against the daycare for failing to maintain or inspect the equipment.
7. How long do I have to file a claim for a daycare injury in New York? Deadlines vary depending on the facts of the case, including whether a government-run facility is involved. Consulting an attorney promptly helps ensure your family doesn’t miss a critical filing deadline.

You Deserve Answers—And So Does Your Child

No parent should have to face this alone. You trusted a daycare to protect your child, and that trust was broken. Let Hill & Moin LLP help you understand your rights, hold the responsible parties accountable, and protect your child’s future.

Call Hill & Moin LLP today at (212) 668-6000 or complete our online form to schedule your free case evaluation. Because when it’s your child, it’s personal.