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Parents and Guardians Forum>Nursemaid's Elbow/Video of Incident
Unregistered 11:34 AM 10-29-2019
Apologies for the long post. Our child came home from daycare babying his arm late last week (Thursday). Our child is young but very verbal. We were told by our child that the teacher was mad at him for not sitting and she pulled his arm and hurt him. He said the teacher's name, when it happened, and why, despite being in pain and crying at this point. I immediately called the pediatrician's line and brought him in. I also contacted the daycare owner/director by phone and text when she didn't answer to tell her what he said to me. He told the pediatrician also who did it, why, and where despite being terrified. I was so proud and so crushed because he LOVED the daycare. The doctor fixed his arm which had nursemaid's elbow and made notes in the report about what he reported to her in case I wanted to report to CPS.

Long story short, the director/owner made us wait until yesterday (Monday) to see the video. She said she had plans on Friday (daycare was closed for conferences) and that to her the incident looked like an accident on the tape.

Well, my husband saw the tape and while the teacher did touch my son's arm, he knew that wasn't what caused nursemaid's elbow. So he asked to watch more video and about 10 minutes later it happened. Our son was not listening and she grabbed his arm, swung him around, and picked him up. This was done in a way that looked inappropriate and like it was done in frustration. This means the teacher grabbed our son by the arm twice, the second being obviously when he was injured.

When I came in to see the video I was appalled. The director brought in the teacher and made her sit in front of me and apologize. I believe that it was a mistake, but one that has no excuse. My son was not behaving in any way inappropriate for a 3 year old. He was merely walking away from her. The director began making excuses like that my son is small and the teacher didn't think about her strength, that she's one of her best teachers, that she's never seen anything like this in 20+ years of working in daycares and now owning her own, etc.

Further, our son had told the director/owner that his arm hurt that day. She said he claimed he'd been scratched and so they put a band-aid on his arm despite there being no visible scratch and then he babied his arm the rest of the day. The incident happened at about 9:30 a.m. and we didn't figure it out until 6:15 p.m. when we got home.

Lastly, the teacher wasn't removed even temporarily. We also have another, younger child and the teacher was still the lead teacher of that child's room. So ultimately we didn't feel comfortable at all returning our kids there.

We removed the kids immediately after both seeing the video on Monday and they started at a new daycare today. I sent an email attachment letter to the director/owner requesting the rest of October back, our security deposits back, and November back (we paid in advance) as well as the co-pay for our son's doctor visit back. I have documentation from the doctor that my son identified the teacher's name. In a normal situation the contract requires a month's notice. For safety reasons we didn't abide by that. We weren't required to pay in advance but did. The security deposits were hefty ($500 for both of our kids).

My questions are these: what are my chances of getting this money back? She's usually VERY fast to respond and I've received no response yet. Also, should I also report to CPS? She said by law they had to report it to licensing but I also wanted to know if I need to report there. Do people in situations like this have to resort to small claims? We've never had a situation like this. I'm sad, angry, and frustrated.
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Cat Herder 12:34 PM 10-29-2019
I am pretty sure they should have to reimburse your entire medical bill. I would request a formal written statement of the incident. You need something in writing.

I probably would have filed a police report for that since it was an adult, not another child. They are required to report themselves to the state, but it won't hurt to make a call yourself. They are probably not responding because they don't have an answer from their liability company, yet. I would not take that personally, yet. They have to do that and wait for the conclusion of the state investigation to tell you what they can offer.

Don't report to CPS, report to the state childcare licensing entity. We can give links if you give the state. Also, the ER doc is also required to report, so probably already did.
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Cat Herder 12:47 PM 10-29-2019
For other providers, I saw this posted online and wanted to share:

Nursemaids Elbow injuries on the Rise Locally

Our regional CCL Investigator has seen an increasing number of reports of nursemaids elbow. This injury is common among children especially up to age three. In nursemaids elbow, the ligament that stretches over the elbow joint is popped out of place. This happens if the child’s arm is pulled and twisted at the wrong angle such as when you are swinging a child by his arms. It can occur if you are holding a child’s hand and she pulls and twists to get away.

Treatment generally requires attention from a doctor trained in moving the ligament back into its proper position. Prevention includes a few common sense guidelines to help avoid this injury entirely. Don’t swing children under the age of three by their outstretched arms; hold them under the arms, instead. If you’ve got a restless child by the hand and she extends her arm and begins twisting to get free, let go and take her by the upper arm or shoulder, or hold her around the waist. Because of the stretching of the ligaments involved in this injury, there is a high rate of reoccurrence of nursemaids elbow of about 25%. So for the next few months after the injury be particularly careful not to over-stretch the injured elbow.
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Blackcat31 01:09 PM 10-29-2019
Cat Herder is correct and gave excellent advice.
I do however, want to mention that since this happened once to your child, he is more susceptible for a repeat occurrence.

My own child had nursemaid's elbow and our pediatrician let us know it can easily reoccur again and he showed us how we could remedy it at home if it did.

It happened several more times through simply play.

I am sorry this happened to your child.
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Josiegirl 02:33 AM 10-30-2019
I'm so sorry this happened to you and your family! If I were you, I'd expect full reimbursement or would threaten legal action.
Poor little guy
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Unregistered 03:54 AM 10-30-2019
Thank you! It’s in Texas.
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Unregistered 06:01 AM 10-30-2019
It’s worth my mentioning that he is over three by a bit. So the above info is a lot more troubling. He is a small kid but no malnutrition. The whole thing has been really shocking for us. And as I mentioned above we are in Texas so if someone knows how to find who to call I’d really appreciate it! I’ll google it too.
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Blackcat31 06:03 AM 10-30-2019
Child Care Licensing Agency
Department of Protective and Regulatory Services
P.O. Box 149030
M.C. E-550
Austin, TX 78714-9030
Phone: Day Care Hotline: (800) 862-5252
or (512) 438-3269
Fax: (512) 438-3848
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Unregistered 08:43 AM 10-30-2019
Thank you it’s been reported. I can’t say how much I truly appreciate the advice.
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Conny 07:57 PM 10-30-2019
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Thank you it’s been reported. I can’t say how much I truly appreciate the advice.
Hi, that's an awful case
I'm interested in outcome, pls share how it'll all end up
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Unregistered 07:47 AM 11-01-2019
Hi, I'm back with an update. I want to be vague just in case but it is now an active investigation with a couple of related agencies (if that makes sense).
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Cat Herder 02:44 PM 11-01-2019
How is your little one doing? Was he able to enjoy trick or treating? Did you guys have a nice Halloween?

I know you will be glad to have it all behind you.
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Unregistered 07:04 AM 11-04-2019
He did really well with trick or treating. He loves it. He keeps saying he doesn't want to go back to the school and see "mean Ms. ____" which breaks my heart. We just keep affirming that he's safe and he doesn't have to see her. I'm hoping with time the fear lessens but he remembers things from months and months ago so who knows. Thank you for asking
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Unregistered 07:16 AM 11-06-2019
We received another bill from the doctor's office that's nearly $200 after insurance. We can submit that to the daycare as well and request they cover it, and that's not unreasonable, right? It states on the bill the diagnosis and procedure.
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springv 07:30 AM 11-06-2019
Get a lawyer if you're able and have them communicate between yourself and the daycare and have them write a letter stating what you want done
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Unregistered 07:47 AM 11-06-2019
I contacted one lawyer group who said they won't take on the case because it didn't involve surgery. I will reach out to another and see what they say.
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Cat Herder 08:33 AM 11-06-2019
Has the investigation been completed?
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Unregistered 08:55 AM 11-06-2019
As far as I know, no. I contacted DFPS this morning to tell them we received another bill and asked if they'd like it and she said yes. When I emailed the bill I asked what to expect and who we'd hear from. I also mentioned the detective who called us and told us they were also investigating. But I haven't received any kind of update since last Thursday.
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Cat Herder 09:00 AM 11-06-2019
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
As far as I know, no. I contacted DFPS this morning to tell them we received another bill and asked if they'd like it and she said yes. When I emailed the bill I asked what to expect and who we'd hear from. I also mentioned the detective who called us and told us they were also investigating. But I haven't received any kind of update since last Thursday.
That is not unusual, they can sometimes take 30 days or more.
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Unregistered 02:31 PM 11-06-2019
Definitely report to state. That is awful, and I am so sorry you have had to deal with this.
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Unregistered 07:25 AM 11-07-2019
I did.
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Tags:injury report, mandated reporter, nursemaid's elbow
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