When suing a daycare for negligence, procedures will differ depending on whether the liable party is a licensed daycare provider or an unlicensed daycare provider.
Licensed providers have certain regulations that they are required to follow, such as the ratio of care providers to children in the daycare and mandatory reporting to state agencies. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in criminal investigations.
Unlicensed daycare providers — such as a daycare run out of a neighbor’s home — do not have to follow the same regulations, and therefore neglect or wrongdoing can be harder to quantify.
With a licensed daycare provider, the liable party may be the individual responsible for wrongdoing, or the daycare company which employs that person. With an unlicensed daycare provider, individuals may be liable, as well as the insurer of the property where the daycare services are held.