Camp left my son in the park

SplitPea

Wed, Aug 26 2015, 8:43 pm

Op in the five towns there are a few options of people who can take him so you can work. Are you on the group five towns moms Or far Rockaway moms? There are at least 20 in between camps. I also know of a few babysitters who can take him. Heck *I* could take him for you!

If there is anything I can do to help you please let me know.

Happy18

Wed, Aug 26 2015, 8:52 pm

Never send him back there. It is up to you, but I would probably talk to a lawyer about suing the camp to ensure that it never happens again. At the very least the camp should be refunding your money for the entire summer. You should not have had to show up for them to realize a child was missing.

amother

Ivory

Wed, Aug 26 2015, 9:00 pm

oh my gosh OP my son is supposed to go there tomorrow!!! I know exactly where you are talking about. My son is 5.5 and going with his friend for the day.
I don't know what to do!!!!!!
FYI I have used them before. It's not our first time.
One would hope a mistake this big would make them ensure an occurrence like that wouldnt happen again. They go to the park every day. I am nervous....

gp2.0

Wed, Aug 26 2015, 9:18 pm

There are multiple ways to make sure this doesn't happen. Labels, partners, head counts. This is inexcusable and terrifying!

If he had been wearing a label, and someone had called them and they picked up your DS before you got there, would they have told you? I'm guessing not...so OP instead of wishing he had gotten hurt so someone would have called for help, maybe it's better this way - he was fine and not traumatized BH BH and now you know not to trust the gym anymore.

amother

Ivory

Wed, Aug 26 2015, 9:31 pm

I can't believe they didn't realize he wasn't with them when they go back to the gym. They seemed to have a bunch of staff for this week and also they split the kids in to groups for their age....it's very bad.
OP thank Gd he is ok but I feel so bad for you for what you went through today.
I am sure this is a wake up call for them and they will be improving the system...

WhatFor

Wed, Aug 26 2015, 11:06 pm

There has to be some way to make sure there is accountability for this incident to make sure it doesn't happen again. I know nothing about this, but maybe inform the agency that licenses the camp? It would have been bad enough had they left him in the park and only discovered it on returning to camp. To not notice that you lost a four-year-old child on an outdoor trip for over three hours after your return, until the parent shows up for the child?? Terrifying.
And if, God forbid, anything had happened to your child, I wonder if criminal charges could have been brought. It's everyone's good fortune that nothing happened. Doesn't make their reckless behavior any less awful.

manhattanmom

Thu, Aug 27 2015, 11:55 am

Not sure what steps you want to take BUT in NY State (don't know if you're there) in a licensed day care/day camp/preschool...this is grounds to shut a place down temporarily and get some staff fired and lose licenses to work in childcare again. For real.
Again, I don't know if you want to go that route but there are grounds for that here. I do hope in the very least there are some consequences internally--within the camp/institution and that all staff is warned by their administrator--giving warnings, etc.

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this, but glad your child is safe!

manhattanmom

Thu, Aug 27 2015, 11:57 am

sky wrote:

This is very scary.

But I'm just scary. On what basis is everyone suing?

especially if this is a licensed childcare facility....the department of health will shut them down and do a thorough investigagion...some people could lose licenses, etc. There are TONS of grounds for a law-suit here. This is NOT an okay situation.

amother

Rose

Thu, Aug 27 2015, 12:01 pm

manhattanmom wrote:

I'm curious as to the "TONS" of grounds for a private lawsuit in a case where the child was left at the park but (B"H) not harmed in any way, and apparently didn't even realize that his group had left.

Most assuredly there is a basis for an investigation, for people to be fired, and for a licensing review. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the "TONS" of grounds for a private claim.

amother

Rose

Thu, Aug 27 2015, 12:01 pm

causemommysaid wrote:

Child negligence, emotional trauma, and anything else that might stick

The child apparently didn't realize that he had been left behind. What trauma are you referring to?

sky

Thu, Aug 27 2015, 12:06 pm

causemommysaid wrote:

Child negligence, emotional trauma, and anything else that might stick

I think you have to prove trauma. I'm not sure how easy it is. And may just place more trauma on the child.
Even with negligence I believe it is only possible to sue if the child was hurt or your property was damaged due to the negligence.

Last edited by sky on Thu, Aug 27 2015, 12:07 pm; edited 1 time in total

Runner18

Thu, Aug 27 2015, 12:06 pm

OMG OP sorry you went through that..this is a crazy situation.

Unfortunately I find that with these situations the only way there is actual change is when there is a threat of a lawsuit...or there is a formal complaint filed with the city that warrants an investigation and the camp is forced to institute policies moving forward.

This place wants you and everyone to forget this incident, really quickly. I just don't know if they are going to adopt the proper protocols unless there is an outside body involved.

I'm not a tattle-tale or into suing but there is absolutely NO excuse for this. For a child to be missing from camp for three hours without anyone even noticing...

amother

Brunette

Thu, Aug 27 2015, 12:20 pm

amother wrote:

The child apparently didn't realize that he had been left behind. What trauma are you referring to?

Emotional trauma of the mother, perhaps?

People sue for the silliest things. I was once in a small claims court and a woman sued a store because there was a small dog there not on a leash, and she has a fear of dogs and she was emotionally traumatized... Rolling Eyes

She won the case, the other side didn't show up.

sky

Thu, Aug 27 2015, 12:41 pm

mommy2b2c wrote:

You do t think child negligence is a good reason to sue?

You can only sue for child negligence if the child was injured or there was damage to your property. On what other basis can you legally sue for child negligence? Maybe I'm not familiar with all the areas it is allowed.

I agree that it is traumatic, and scary and awful. I'm just not sure under American law this sue-able. maybe a lawyer can chime in.

amother wrote:

Emotional trauma of the mother, perhaps?

You still have to prove the mother had trauma. I guess if she goes to a therapist and and the therapist can prove the trauma is impacting her life then there may be a case.

amother

Pink

Thu, Aug 27 2015, 12:45 pm

OP here. I don't want to sue the place or force them to shut down, they are a known community business and generally well-regarded. I would be more interested in forcing them to revamp their protocol and staff training so that they can continue to serve the community and no other parent will go through what I did. Granted, even with all this, I wouldn't send any of my children there in the future, but at least other parents would be able to with peace of mind.
I have lawyers in the family and spoke to a few of them today, and they all agreed that it would be difficult to sue because no tangible harm occured- could have happened is just not a very strong case. My son suffered no trauma (he asked this morning to go back to "the park camp that lets me play in the park all day"), only me. I was advised to send them a scary letter on legal letterhead (that any of them will be happy to write) and report to their insurance company so they will be held fully accountable and they will be SURE to update procedures and staff training.
As for me, I'm still super shaken. I can't wait for school to start, not just because of childcare, but because I know his school takes safety so seriously and I can trust them.