Originally Posted by QualiTcare:
Providers definitely are responsible for the bill in these situations. When an incident occurs, the parents aren't even supposed to know who the other child is that was involved so I don't see how anyone could think otherwise.
I wasn't going to disagree with you on this, because I figured it would cause the great debate. But...I changed my mind!
Daycare providers are NOT immediately liable for every accident, injury or illness that occurs at daycare.
Personally, I have a liability waiver in my contract as I assume most providers do. My sister is a lawyer and we discussed my contract and my liability at lenghth. In order to be held liable, a parent would need to prove neglect on the part of the provider.
Scenario 1: Little Jimmy is playing in the backyard, trips over his feet, bonks his head and requires stitches. Providing that the caregiver met all of the safety and supervision requirements he/she wouldn't be liable for medical bills.
Yes, the parents can attempt to sue for them; however, they are unlikely to a) find an attorney willing to take the case as the reward (based on the attorney collecting 1/3 of the settlement + expenses) won't be worth it,
b)If the parent pays the attorney his billable rate, it will far exceed the amount of the stitches and while you may loose the client, it is cheaper for the parent to simply pay the bill or,
c) if they take you to small claims, unless they can prove neglect, they will loose per the above contract.
Now if Little Jimmy falls off the swingset and the provider doesn't have the appropriate fall zone depth, you can prove neglect and now the providers liability insurance is a God-send.
In this case, the provider would be negligent by my county licensing laws as the child was not being supervised by the caregiver or a back-up provider over the age of 18 and also because the "toy" was inappropriate.