Search

Completing Paperwork For Your Personal Injury Case

Three Things You May Use To Prove Negligence Of A Daycare When Pursuing An E. Coli Injury Claim

3 February 2017

Christopher Wilson

If your child gets infected with E. coli at a daycare center, you have the right to sue the daycare for damages. However, the onus is on you to prove the daycare's negligence. Here are three things you can use as proof:

Failure to Clean and Disinfect the Diapering Area

The E. coli strains that cause gastrointestinal problems can pass from one child to another via the oral or fecal route. For example, when an infected child uses the diapering area, they may leave traces of the microbes in the area. A subsequent healthy child who then comes to the diapering area can pick up the microbes by dirtying their hands and inserting it into their mouths.

For this reason, the daycare facility is expected to clean and disinfect the diapering area. This should be done every time a child has their diaper changed in the area. If the daycare doesn't adhere to this standard of hygiene and your child gets infected with E. coli, then you can sue the daycare for your child's illness.

Improper Food Preparation

Although your child can get E. coli by handling the fecal matter from an infected kid, the germs commonly spread via consumption of contaminated food and water. The most common foods are ground beef, unpasteurized milk, and fresh produce from the farm (such as spinach).

Therefore, the daycare center must cook food thoroughly so that the high temperatures kill the E. coli (and other) germs. For example, they must cook hamburger a minimum temperature of 160⁰F to kill all the germs, and those who prepare food must not rely on food color to determine when it is cooked. Therefore, you have a strong injury claim against the daycare if you can prove that they did not cook their food properly (the chef assumed the meat was cooked when it turned brown) and it gave your kid E. coli.

Careless Handling of Food

Even food heated to the correct temperatures can be contaminated by E. coli if it is cut or served with contaminated utensils. Therefore, they daycare must clean and disinfect all the utensils that are used to handle the food. This also means that only adults should handle the food and utensils. Older children, for example, must not be allowed to assist with food preparation or serving since they may not take the same precautions of the adults. Therefore, if your kid regales you with tales of how their buddy heaped meat on their plates, you can use that to prove that the daycare is careless with its food handling while pursuing your injury case.

For more information, contact local professionals like Owen Law Firm.

Share