A mother from Queensland sued a daycare facility, alleging that when the infant was left unattended, an older child beat him and caused “shocking” marks.
The family of seven-month-old Jack alleges that the youngster was attacked while caregivers at a childcare facility in Moreton Bay left him unattended to change the diaper of another infant.
When the daycare center told mother Angela Swindells about the incident in August 2018, she alleged that they understated how seriously Jack had been hurt.
When she picked up her child, she claimed to have experienced her worst nightmare.
“It appeared that the child had gouged out his eyes, beaten him on the arm, and stamped down on his head with a wooden jigsaw puzzle,” Swindells said.
To think that you trusted a daycare to care for your child and then you pick them up and they look like that is extremely traumatizing.
She alleged that Jack suffered from bruising, scratches, and black eyes.
Swindells alleged that when the assault happened, personnel originally assured her that a supervisor was in the room.
The youngsters were left unattended, the center later acknowledged in an email.
The email stated, “Despite having enough staff for the number of children, we must be more mindful of when to carry out other tasks. This took place when the educator supervising went to change a child’s diaper.”
Upon being contacted for response, the center stated: “At the time, we were fully compliant with legislated child-to-staff ratios, and staff were immediately aware of the incident and administered appropriate first aid, and parents and the regulatory authority were notified, resolving the issue.”
These situations have becoming more prevalent, according to Shine Lawyers, who are defending Swindells.
According to Sharntiesha Hogan from the company, “it’s quite alarming to see the number of cases that are coming through, especially these ones where it deals with children being attacked by other children or falling off with play equipment.”
