Imagine sending your five-year old child off to day care and later come to find out that he or she had been attacked while there. Imagine finding out that a teenager had repeatedly raped your five-year old daughter when you sent her off to daycare. It is a parent’s worst nightmare; and for the parents of a five-year old Miami-Dade girl, their nightmare came true in 2008.
In 2008, while the young girl was at Discovery Day Care, which is located on SW 67th Avenue, she was raped multiple times by a thirteen-year old boy during scheduled nap times. The boy was the son of the center’s then-director. Her parents filed a civil suit in 2009 against Discovery, asking that the center be held responsible for failing to provide supervision and for failing to keep their child safe. The girl’s attorneys maintained, “There’s no need for new laws here. There are laws on the books that [Discovery] simply chose to ignore.” While the teenager denied the allegations, at trial a therapist testified that he admitted to raping the girl during a therapy session. After hearing arguments, the jury determined that Discovery was negligent and awarded the young girl, who is now nine years old, and her family $3 million.
Discovery, which is still in business, maintains that children were never left unsupervised and therefore, any abuse of the girl could not have happened. Discovery’s attorneys have stated that they intend to request a new trial and if the new trial is not granted, they intend to appeal the verdict. The director, whose son abused the girl, has left the day care center. Two more civil suits have arisen against Discovery–one from a girl who saw the teenager abuse the young girl and one from another child who also claims to have been abused.
Dade jury awards parents of girl $3 million in abuse case at day-care, www.miamiherald.com January 18, 2012.
In the words of the young girl’s attorney, “A daycare is a place where parents should be able to entrust adults with the safety of their children. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen here.” If your child has suffered an injury while in the care of a daycare center or other childcare institution, call the child injury attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona today. The personal injury attorneys at the Miami-based Friedland | Carmona understand that bringing a child injury claim can be emotionally difficult. The attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona at equipped to handle your family’s needs while bringing your claim. For over twenty years, the Miami personal injury lawyers at the Friedland | Carmona have been dedicated to helping child victims recover the compensation they deserve. Call (305) 661-2008 today for your free consultation.
The Miami child injury attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona handle all types personal injury cases throughout the state of Florida, including Boca Raton, Homestead, North Miami, South Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Pembroke Pines, Hialeah, Kendall, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. In addition to child injuries, the Friedland | Carmona handles all types of personal injury claims, including wrongful death, defective products, medical malpractice, slip and falls and construction site injuries. Call today and let our family take care of your family!