In January 2026, the family enrolled their three-year-old daughter at a licensed child-care center in San Antonio. She was in the center’s care during the day, in a classroom staffed by an adult the family trusted to keep her safe.
According to the petition, while the little girl was being changed, an adult caregiver employed by the center physically disciplined her by striking her on her bare skin and causing her pain. Texas child-care rules flatly prohibit corporal punishment and this kind of physical discipline; a caregiver is never permitted to hit a child, least of all a partially undressed three-year-old in her care.
The petition alleges the incident was captured on the center’s video. The child’s mother was able to view that footage, but the center refused to give her a copy of it. The petition further alleges the center never reported the incident to child-care licensing, never properly notified the family through its own channels, and allowed the caregiver to keep working.
The center is a licensed Texas child-care center serving infants, toddlers, pre-kindergarten, and school-age children. Texas child-care rules prohibit corporal punishment and other improper discipline, require centers to use only appropriate methods with the children in their care, require staff to be properly trained and supervised, and require centers to document injuries and report incidents. The petition alleges the center used a prohibited method of discipline, failed to render aid, failed to seek medical care, failed to notify the family, failed to report to licensing, and failed to properly train and supervise its staff.
What makes this worse is what the center did after. According to the petition, the harm was recorded on video and the center reviewed the situation. Its response was to withhold the footage, keep the incident from the proper channels, and keep the caregiver on the job. We are pursuing the center’s video, its incident and reporting records, the caregiver’s disciplinary and training file, and its supervision policies, and we contend the center is responsible for its employee’s conduct.
We represent the family and have filed suit against the center in Bexar County. We brought claims for negligence, gross negligence, and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, including the use of prohibited discipline, the failure to render aid, the failure to notify the family, the failure to report the incident, and the failure to train and supervise staff. We also contend the center is liable for its caregiver’s conduct. We are pressing the center to preserve and produce the video and its records.
A daycare does not get to take a family’s money to keep their child safe, let a worker strike a three-year-old as punishment, and then hide the video and keep the worker on staff. We intend to hold this center fully accountable.
We represent the family and have filed suit against the center in Bexar County. We brought claims for negligence, gross negligence, and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, including the use of prohibited discipline, the failure to render aid, the failure to notify the family, the failure to report the incident, and the failure to train and supervise staff. We also contend the center is liable for its caregiver’s conduct. We are pressing the center to preserve and produce the video and its records.
A daycare does not get to take a family’s money to keep their child safe, let a worker strike a three-year-old as punishment, and then hide the video and keep the worker on staff. We intend to hold this center fully accountable.
