When you trust a daycare with your child, you expect safety, supervision, and care. Discovering that your child may have been sexually abused in that setting shatters that trust and leaves you searching for answers—what happened, who allowed it, and how to help your child heal.
In these cases, the responsibility doesn’t rest solely with the abuser. It likely extends to the daycare and the individuals who failed to protect the children in their care. These institutions often move quickly to protect their own reputation, leaving families feeling ignored and powerless.
You don’t have to face this alone. Horowitz Law represents survivors of sexual abuse throughout Florida, with extensive experience holding negligent daycares and other child-care institutions accountable. We’ll help you understand your legal options and guide your family toward justice and recovery.
If you suspect your child was harmed at a daycare, call our Orlando day care sexual abuse attorneys at (954) 641-2100 for a confidential, no-cost consultation.
Orlando Day Care Sexual Abuse Guide
- Why Families Trust Horowitz Law
- What Are the Signs of Daycare Abuse?
- What Compensation Can a Lawsuit Provide for a Survivor?
- Who Is Legally Responsible for the Abuse?
- The Reality of Child Abuse in Orlando and Orange County
- What Can You Do Now to Protect Your Child and Your Legal Rights?
- Frequently Asked Questions About Daycare Abuse Lawsuits
- Your First Step Toward Healing
Why Families Trust Horowitz Law
Our Commitment to Survivors
Horowitz Law was founded by Adam Horowitz for one purpose: to provide dedicated legal representation for survivors of sexual abuse. Unlike general personal injury firms, our entire practice is devoted to these sensitive cases.
We have been advocating for survivors since 2000, helping expose abuse within institutions from schools and daycare centers to religious organizations.
A National Reputation for Justice
Our founding attorney, Adam Horowitz, brings more than 25 years of experience to this work and has been recognized for his results on behalf of survivors.
He was named South Florida’s Most Effective Lawyer by the Daily Business Review and holds an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible rating for legal ability and ethical standards. Adam Horowitz has secured significant verdicts for survivors, including a jury award of over $70 million for one client.
How We Serve the Orlando Community
Our Orlando office is located at 17 E. Pine Street.
Our Promise to You
- A Free, Confidential Case Review: We will listen to your story without judgment and with complete confidentiality.
- No Fee Unless We Win: We handle cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay nothing unless we secure a financial recovery for you.
- Direct and Personalized Attention: You will work directly with our compassionate team throughout the legal process.
What Are the Signs of Daycare Abuse?
Recognizing abuse isn't always straightforward, particularly in young children who may not have the words to describe what happened. While these changes can have other causes, a sudden shift in your child's personality or habits warrants closer attention.
Behavioral and Emotional Changes to Watch For
- Sudden Regression: A potty-trained child might start having accidents again, or a child who sleeps through the night may suddenly develop sleep problems or nightmares.
- Increased Fear or Anxiety: Your child may become unusually clingy, fearful of being left alone, or develop a new fear of the daycare, a specific caregiver, or even certain rooms.
- Unexplained Aggression or Withdrawal: Noticeable changes in social behavior, like becoming uncharacteristically aggressive with other children or withdrawing from activities they once enjoyed.
- Inappropriate Knowledge: Displaying sexual knowledge or behaviors that are not appropriate for their age.
Physical Indicators
- Unexplained Injuries: Any bruising, pain, or irritation in the genital or anal areas should be immediately evaluated by a doctor.
- Difficulty Walking or Sitting: Complaints of pain that make it hard to sit or walk comfortably.
Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong, it deserves to be investigated.
What Compensation Can a Lawsuit Provide for a Survivor?
While a civil lawsuit cannot erase the harm done, it can provide the financial resources for a survivor’s long-term healing and recovery. In Florida, a successful claim may result in compensation, legally known as "damages," which fall into a few different categories.
Economic Damages: Covering Financial Costs
These damages are designed to reimburse the direct financial losses your family has faced or will face because of the abuse.
This includes:
- Therapy and Counseling Costs: For the child and potentially for the family. Therapy provides a safe environment for children to process traumatic experiences and develop healthy coping skills.
- Medical Bills: Treatment for any physical injuries.
- Future Care Needs: The potential costs of long-term psychological and emotional support.
- Lost Wages for Parents: Time taken off work to care for your child, attend appointments, or meet with investigators.
Non-Economic Damages: Acknowledging the Human Toll
This type of compensation addresses the non-financial impact of the abuse—the human suffering involved.
It can cover:
- Pain and Suffering: The physical and emotional distress the child has been forced to endure.
- Emotional Anguish: For conditions like anxiety, depression, PTSD, and persistent fear. Symptoms in children might include re-enacting the event, sleep disturbances, or becoming unusually aggressive.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: How the trauma has diminished the child's ability to live a normal, happy childhood.
Punitive Damages: A Penalty for Gross Negligence
In certain cases where a daycare's actions were particularly reckless, Florida law allows for punitive damages. Under Florida Statute § 768.72, these may be awarded if there is clear and convincing evidence of "intentional misconduct or gross negligence."
These damages are not intended to compensate your family for a loss. Instead, their purpose is to punish the defendant and discourage similar behavior from happening again. Meeting the high legal standard for these damages requires a thorough investigation and a strong legal argument.
Who Is Legally Responsible for the Abuse?
When sexual abuse occurs at a daycare, the abuser is not the only party who can be held accountable. The institution itself almost always carries a heavy share of the legal responsibility for permitting the abuse to happen.
The Negligent Daycare or Childcare Facility
Daycare centers have a legal duty to provide a safe environment for every child. We investigate whether they failed in this duty through:
- Negligent Hiring: Did the daycare fail to conduct a legally required background check on an employee? Florida law mandates strict Level 2 background screenings for childcare staff. This includes national and statewide criminal history checks, sexual offender registry searches, and a review of child abuse records from any state the person lived in over the past five years.
- Inadequate Supervision: Was there a lack of oversight that created an opportunity for abuse? This could include violating staff-to-child ratios or failing to have proper monitoring systems.
- Failure to Train: Did the daycare neglect to train its staff on how to spot the signs of child abuse and what to do when they see them?
- Failure to Report: Did other staff members suspect or witness abuse but fail to report it to the authorities as they are required to do under the law?
The Individual Abuser
The person who committed the abuse can be held accountable in two different legal arenas: a criminal case brought by the state and a civil case brought by your family. A civil lawsuit seeks financial damages for the harm they caused.
Third Parties
Sometimes, other organizations could share responsibility. This might include a parent company that owns the daycare franchise or even a government licensing agency if serious failures are discovered.
The Reality of Child Abuse in Orlando and Orange County
Local Reporting Failures
The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) is tasked with investigating reports of child abuse. According to its recent annual report, the DCF's Office of Inspector General received, reviewed, and processed 10,581 complaints. A portion of these involve the very institutions entrusted with protecting children.
Common Failures We Uncover in Florida Daycare Cases
Certain institutional failures appear repeatedly in these cases. Our investigations frequently uncover problems related to:
- High-Turnover Staffing: Facilities that constantly hire new, often minimally-vetted employees create unstable and sometimes unsafe environments.
- Lack of Video Surveillance: In other cases, cameras are broken or completely absent in key areas like nap rooms or restrooms.
- Poorly Enforced Policies: Some daycares have safety rules on paper but fail to follow them in practice, such as policies preventing employees from being alone with a single child.
What Can You Do Now to Protect Your Child and Your Legal Rights?
After you have ensured your child is safe and have reported the abuse to the police and the Florida Abuse Hotline, there are several steps you can take from home to help build a strong legal case.
Actions to Take from Home
- Document Everything: Start a private journal. Write down what your child has said, any changes in their behavior, sleep patterns, or mood. Note the dates and times you observe these changes.
- Preserve All Communications: Save every email, text message, or app notification from the daycare, from both before and after you grew suspicious. Do not delete anything.
- Follow Medical and Therapeutic Advice: If your child is in therapy or receiving medical care, stick to the treatment plan. This is first and foremost for your child's healing, and it also creates a record of the abuse's impact.
- Avoid Speaking with the Daycare’s Representatives: The daycare or its insurance company may try to contact you. Do not give any recorded statements or sign documents without first speaking to an attorney. Their goal is to resolve the matter from their business's perspective, which is different from your family's goal of healing and recovery.
- Stay Off Social Media: While it's natural to want to share your story or find support, posts on social media may be taken out of context and used against you in a legal case. We recommend keeping the details of your situation private for now.
Frequently Asked Questions About Daycare Abuse Lawsuits
How long do we have to file a lawsuit in Florida?
Florida's statute of limitations for cases involving childhood sexual abuse is unique. Under Florida Statute § 95.11(10), a lawsuit related to the sexual battery of a victim under 16 can be filed at any time. However, it is always better to act sooner rather than later because evidence disappears, witnesses move, and memories fade over time.
What if we don't have definitive proof the abuse happened?
This is a common fear. You do not need a video of the incident to file a lawsuit. Many of these cases are built on circumstantial evidence, like a child's behavioral changes, testimony from trauma experts, and proof of the daycare's own carelessness, such as a failed background check. Our job is to conduct the investigation needed to uncover this evidence.
Can we still file a lawsuit if a criminal case is also happening?
Yes. A criminal case and a civil lawsuit are two independent processes with different goals. The criminal justice system's goal is to punish the offender. A civil case's goal is to secure compensation to help the survivor heal. The result of one case does not automatically determine the result of the other.
What if the daycare has already closed down?
Even if the facility has shut its doors, you may still be able to pursue a claim against the daycare's former owners or its insurance company. A closure can make the process more difficult, but it does not automatically prevent you from recovering damages.
Will my child have to testify in court?
This is a major concern for every parent. In civil cases involving young children, it is very rare for a child to be asked to testify in a courtroom. The legal system has specific procedures to protect children. We rely on evidence from experts, medical records, and the daycare's own conduct to build the case, shielding your child from the stress of the legal process as much as possible.
Your First Step Toward Healing
Holding a negligent daycare responsible means securing the support and care your child will need to heal. It also means ensuring those who allowed this to happen are held to account and that other families are protected from the same harm.
At Horowitz Law, our Orlando sexual abuse attorneys handle the legal burden so you can focus on your child’s recovery. We’ll guide you through each step, explain your options clearly, and work toward the justice your family deserves.
For a confidential, no-cost consultation with a team experienced in child sexual abuse cases, call (954) 641-2100. Your family deserves answers and a path forward.