What If the Daycare Denies Responsibility for My Child’s Injury

Your child comes home from daycare with a bruise, a broken bone, or worse, and when you ask the facility what happened, they tell you it was an accident, that your child was just being a child, or that they are not responsible. That response is frustrating, and for many Chicago parents, it feels like a dead end. It is not. Illinois law gives injured children and their families real legal options, and a daycare’s denial of responsibility does not make the facts disappear.

Table of Contents

• Why Daycares Deny Responsibility, and Why It Does Not Matter
• Illinois Law Holds Daycares to a Clear Standard
• What Evidence Can Prove the Daycare Is Liable
• How Illinois Comparative Fault Rules Affect Your Case
• When to Involve DCFS and Law Enforcement
• FAQs About What If the Daycare Denies Responsibility for My Child’s Injury in Chicago, IL

Why Daycares Deny Responsibility, and Why It Does Not Matter

Daycare facilities deny liability for the same reason any business does: money. Accepting responsibility opens the door to insurance claims, lawsuits, and reputational damage. Staff members may give conflicting accounts. Incident reports may be vague or missing. Management may tell you the injury was unavoidable or that your child contributed to it. These are tactics, not legal defenses.

What matters under Illinois law is not what the daycare says, but what the evidence shows. A daycare owes every child in its care a duty of reasonable care under the Illinois Premises Liability Act. That duty exists the moment your child walks through the door of a facility in Lincoln Park, Pilsen, Rogers Park, or anywhere else in Chicago. When that duty is breached and your child is hurt, the facility can be held liable, regardless of how many times staff members say “it wasn’t our fault.”

Illinois courts look at four elements in a negligence case: duty, breach, causation, and damages. The daycare had a duty to supervise your child safely. If a staff member failed to watch a toddler near a staircase, left an infant unattended on a changing table, or ignored a known hazard on the playground, that is a breach. If the breach caused your child’s injury, and your child suffered real harm, you have the building blocks of a valid claim. The daycare’s denial does not erase any of those elements.

Families in Chicago who feel dismissed by a daycare’s response should speak with a Chicago personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. The earlier you act, the better your chances of preserving the evidence that tells the real story.

Illinois Law Holds Daycares to a Clear Standard

Licensed daycare centers in Illinois operate under a detailed set of legal obligations. The Illinois Child Care Act of 1969 (225 ILCS 10) requires licensed facilities to meet health and safety standards set by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). These standards cover staffing ratios, background checks, training, emergency procedures, and the physical condition of the facility itself.

DCFS Rule 407 is the main set of licensing standards for day care centers, and in 2025, DCFS adopted specific amendments related to director and teacher qualifications. In-service training requirements now include topics like communicable diseases, medicine administration, allergic reactions, building safety, emergency planning, and hazardous materials. When a daycare fails to follow these rules and a child is hurt as a result, that violation can support a legal theory called negligence per se. Under negligence per se, a violation of a statute designed to protect children can be treated as negligence without requiring additional proof of unreasonable conduct.

Licensed day care homes are inspected annually by DCFS or the supervising licensed child welfare agency. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services maintains a website where families can check whether a licensed child care provider is maintaining their licensing requirements, including whether there are violations, corrective measures taken, and the status of the program’s license. If a facility has a history of violations and your child was injured, that inspection record becomes powerful evidence in your case.

A daycare that denies responsibility while also sitting on a stack of unresolved DCFS citations is in a very weak position legally. Briskman Briskman & Greenberg knows how to find and use that information.

What Evidence Can Prove the Daycare Is Liable

When a daycare denies responsibility, your job, with the help of an attorney, is to build a record that tells a different story. Evidence is everything in these cases, and it starts disappearing fast. Surveillance footage from facilities near the Magnificent Mile or in Wicker Park gets overwritten. Incident reports get “corrected.” Staff members who witnessed the event may leave or change their accounts.

The types of evidence that can establish a daycare’s liability include surveillance video from inside the facility, written incident reports, DCFS inspection records, staff training logs, and staff-to-child ratio records from the day of the injury. Medical records documenting the nature and severity of your child’s injuries are also critical, whether those injuries involved a head injury, broken bones, burns, or soft tissue damage.

Witness statements from other parents who were present at pickup or who have observed unsafe conditions at the facility can also support your claim. If the daycare has a pattern of understaffing or ratio violations, payroll records and scheduling logs can prove it. Illinois courts allow plaintiffs to request this kind of documentation through the discovery process in civil litigation.

Under the Illinois Child Care Act of 1969, licensed facilities are required to perform and maintain authorization and results of criminal history checks through the Illinois State Police and FBI, as well as checks of the Illinois Sex Offender Registry, the National Sex Offender Registry, and Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System for employees and volunteers who work directly with children. If a daycare skipped that step and hired someone with a dangerous history, that failure is evidence of negligent hiring, which is a separate basis for liability.

Do not wait to gather this evidence. Call Briskman Briskman & Greenberg at (312) 222-0010 so our team can begin preserving the record before it is lost.

How Illinois Comparative Fault Rules Affect Your Case

One tactic daycares and their insurers use after denying responsibility is to shift blame onto the child or the parents. They might claim your child was acting recklessly, that you failed to disclose a medical condition, or that the child’s behavior contributed to the accident. This is where Illinois comparative fault law becomes important to understand.

Under the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, Section 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence rule. This means that even if your child is found to share some degree of fault, you can still recover damages, as long as your child’s share of fault does not exceed 50 percent. Any damages awarded are reduced in proportion to the fault attributed to your child. So if a jury finds your child 20 percent at fault and awards $100,000 in damages, you would receive $80,000.

This rule has important implications for daycare cases. Very young children, such as infants and toddlers, are generally not capable of being found at fault for their own injuries. Illinois courts recognize that very young children lack the capacity to appreciate danger or act with reasonable care. A daycare that tries to blame a two-year-old for a fall from a high chair or a stairway injury is unlikely to find that argument persuasive in a Cook County courtroom.

It is also worth noting that under 735 ILCS 5/2-1117, all defendants found liable are jointly and severally liable for a plaintiff’s past and future medical and medically related expenses. This means that if multiple parties share responsibility, such as the daycare operator, the property owner, and a negligent staff member, each can be held responsible for those medical costs. That matters enormously when a child’s injuries require ongoing treatment, therapy, or long-term care.

When to Involve DCFS and Law Enforcement

A daycare’s denial of responsibility does not mean the matter stays between you and the facility. In Illinois, daycare workers are mandatory reporters under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act (325 ILCS 5). If a child shows signs of abuse or neglect, staff are legally required to report it to DCFS. When a facility fails to report a serious injury or actively works to conceal what happened, that failure itself may be a violation of state law.

Parents can report suspected abuse or neglect directly to the DCFS Hotline at 1-800-252-2873. DCFS will investigate and, if violations are found, can issue citations, impose corrective action plans, or move to suspend or revoke the facility’s license. Illinois DCFS keeps a public report of the number of incidents in licensed facilities, including serious injuries, deaths, and reports of child abuse or neglect. That public record can become part of your civil case.

In cases involving physical abuse by a staff member, shaken baby syndrome, or other intentional harm, law enforcement and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office may become involved. A criminal investigation and a civil lawsuit can proceed at the same time. A criminal charge or conviction against a daycare worker is not required for you to win a civil case. The standards of proof are different, and a civil claim for damages can succeed even when criminal charges are not filed or do not result in a conviction.

Whether the injury happened at a licensed center near O’Hare, an in-home daycare in Bridgeport, or a church-based program on the South Side, the legal path forward is the same. You have the right to pursue accountability. Briskman Briskman & Greenberg is ready to help you do exactly that. Call us at (312) 222-0010 or reach out through our website. This content is provided by Briskman Briskman & Greenberg, located at 134 N. LaSalle St., Suite 1040, Chicago, IL 60602.

FAQs About What If the Daycare Denies Responsibility for My Child’s Injury in Chicago, IL

Can I still file a lawsuit if the daycare says my child’s injury was an accident?

Yes. A daycare calling an injury an “accident” does not eliminate its legal responsibility. If the injury resulted from inadequate supervision, unsafe conditions, ratio violations, or untrained staff, the facility may still be liable under Illinois negligence law. What matters is whether the daycare breached its duty of reasonable care, not how the facility describes the event.

How long do I have to file a claim after my child is injured at a Chicago daycare?

In Illinois, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally two years from the date of injury. However, for injured minors, Illinois law typically tolls (pauses) the statute of limitations until the child turns 18, giving them until their 20th birthday to file in their own name. Even so, acting quickly is critical because evidence, witnesses, and surveillance footage disappear over time. Speaking with an attorney soon after the injury protects your options.

What if the daycare’s insurance company contacts me directly after my child’s injury?

Do not give a recorded statement to the daycare’s insurance company without first speaking with an attorney. Insurance adjusters work for the facility, not for you or your child. Anything you say can be used to minimize or deny your claim. You have the right to have legal representation before any communication with the insurer, and exercising that right is strongly advisable.

Can I sue both the daycare center and the individual worker who hurt my child?

Yes. Illinois law allows you to file claims against both the daycare facility and individual staff members. The facility can be held liable for the actions of its employees under the legal doctrine of vicarious liability, and also for its own negligence in hiring, training, or retaining a dangerous worker. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1117, defendants who share fault for medical expenses can be held jointly and severally liable for those costs.

Does it help my case if the daycare has past DCFS violations?

It can help significantly. Prior DCFS citations for understaffing, unsafe conditions, inadequate training, or background check failures can show a pattern of negligence. If those violations are related to how your child was injured, they may support your claim and demonstrate that the facility had notice of the problem but failed to fix it. An attorney can help you obtain and use those inspection records as part of your case.

More Resources About Frequently Asked Questions and Resources About Daycare Injuries

• Frequently Asked Questions About Chicago Daycare Injury Claims
• Illinois and Chicago Daycare Injury Statistics
• Resources for Families of Children Injured at Chicago Daycares
• Do I Need a Lawyer for My Child’s Daycare Injury Case
• How Long Does a Chicago Daycare Injury Case Take to Resolve
• What If My Child’s Daycare Injury Seems Minor
• Can I Sue a Chicago Daycare for Emotional Abuse Only
• What If My Child Was Injured at an Unlicensed Chicago Daycare
• What If the Daycare Worker Was Not Criminally Charged
• Can I Still Sue If I Signed a Liability Waiver
• What If My Child’s Injury Happened on a Daycare Field Trip
• How Are Daycare Injury Settlements Paid to Minor Children in Illinois