Drop-off at a daycare in El Paso is a small piece of choreography that most parents do twice a day without thinking. Pull into the drop-off lane on Resler Drive or Lee Trevino or Joe Battle. Wait for the family ahead. Carry a kid in one hand, a diaper bag in the other, and a thermos lunch in the third hand you do not actually have. Smile at the staff. Sign in. Walk back to the car. Drive to work.
It works until it doesn't. And when it doesn't, the injuries that happen in daycare drop-off lanes are some of the most under-litigated and underreported personal injury cases in the city. Most parents have no idea they have a claim. Many sign waivers handed to them by daycare staff without realizing those waivers are often unenforceable in Texas. Most assume their auto insurance is the only thing they can lean on. None of those assumptions are right.
This piece is a quick primer on daycare drop-off injuries in El Paso, the premises liability law that governs them, and what to do if your child or you were hurt in a lane that should have been safe.
Why Daycare Drop-Off Zones Are Underrecognized Risk Areas
A daycare drop-off lane combines several risk factors that, individually, are manageable. Combined, they produce more injuries than most parents realize.
Tight time pressure. Parents are running late for work. Children are being separated from a caregiver for the day, which often produces resistance. The combination produces rushed movements and inattention.
Mixed-purpose traffic. Drop-off lanes carry vehicles in motion, vehicles parked, vehicles backing up, parents on foot, and children of widely varying ages on foot. Few other private spaces combine all five.
Poor sight lines. Daycare facilities are often in renovated commercial spaces, churches, or strip mall locations where the drop-off lane was retrofitted rather than purpose-built. Parents pulling out of a parking space frequently cannot see small children between two SUVs.
Limited supervision. Many daycares assume the drop-off lane is the parents' responsibility and the indoor facility is the daycare's responsibility. The dividing line is often a sliding door or a sign-in desk. Children injured outside that line fall into a gray zone of supervision.
Inadequate lighting at evening pickup. Pickup during winter months often happens after dark. Lighting in parking lots and walkways is the daycare's responsibility, and many older facilities have failing fixtures.
Cracked or uneven walkways. Settling concrete, root damage from mature trees, and weathered pavement create trip hazards on the walking path between car and entrance. Texas premises liability law makes the facility responsible for these conditions.
Most El Paso daycares are excellent operations run by people who care deeply about the children in their custody. But the legal duty to keep the premises safe is a continuing one, and even well-run facilities can have a bad day or a deferred repair that produces an injury.
Most Common Daycare Drop-Off Injuries
The cases we see in this category fall into a handful of recurring patterns:
Vehicle-on-vehicle in the drop-off line. A rear-end when a parent stops suddenly to let a child out. A side-swipe when a vehicle pulls forward and a second vehicle is merging back into the through lane. Speeds are low but pedestrians nearby create high consequences.
Vehicle-on-pedestrian. A child runs between two parked SUVs. A parent walking back to their car steps off the curb just as another vehicle is pulling out. The driver of the moving vehicle is usually liable but the daycare's premises design can share fault.
Parked vehicle door strike. A parent opens a driver-side door and a moving vehicle passes too close, taking the door off and sometimes injuring the parent or a child being unloaded. This is a clear case of moving driver fault under Texas Transportation Code Section 545.418.
Slip and fall on wet pavement. Sprinkler overspray, recent washdown, or a leaking AC condensate line can produce wet walkways in a parking lot. The daycare is responsible for warning of and remediating these conditions. For broader context on these claims, see our piece on slip and fall premises liability.
Trip and fall on cracked walkways. A raised seam, a chipped curb, or a missing tile is a textbook premises liability hazard.
Child injury inside the lobby. Heavy doors slamming on small fingers, slick lobby floors during rain, and missing safety gates near stairs all produce injuries within the daycare's direct supervisory zone.
Playground injuries on the property. When a drop-off path runs past a playground, an unsupervised piece of play equipment can cause injuries to a child still in the parent's care during the drop-off transition.
Texas Premises Liability and Childcare Facilities
Texas premises liability law assigns different levels of duty depending on the legal status of the person on the property.
Invitees have the highest level of protection. Invitees are people on the property for a business purpose that benefits the owner. Parents and children at a daycare are invitees. The daycare owes them a duty to:
- Inspect the premises regularly for hazards.
- Remedy any known hazards or warn of them.
- Use reasonable care to keep the property reasonably safe.
Licensees receive a lower level of protection. Licensees are people on the property with permission but not for a business purpose, such as social visitors. The owner must warn of known hazards but has no duty to inspect.
Trespassers receive the lowest protection. The owner must only refrain from intentionally injuring them.
For daycare drop-off injuries, the parents and children are virtually always invitees. The duty is at its highest.
The Texas attractive nuisance doctrine adds protection for young children. When a property has a condition that is likely to attract children and that poses a danger they cannot appreciate, the property owner has heightened duties. Playgrounds, pools, and even cluttered parking lots can fall into this doctrine in some circumstances.
When the Daycare Itself Is Liable
A daycare can share or bear liability for a drop-off lane injury in several specific scenarios:
Negligent traffic flow design. A drop-off lane that forces parents to back up across a pedestrian walkway, that has no separation between vehicle and pedestrian flow, or that creates blind corners is a design defect the facility can be liable for.
Failure to maintain the walkway and parking surface. Cracked sidewalks, broken curbs, slippery surfaces, missing or broken handrails, and inadequate lighting.
Failure to supervise during transition. Many parents drop off at the curb and expect a staff member to escort their child inside. If the daycare advertises or accepts that practice but does not actually provide a staff escort and a child is injured outside as a result, the facility is liable.
Negligent hiring of staff. A daycare staff member who improperly handled a child during drop-off or who behaved negligently in the parking lot can produce a vicarious liability claim against the daycare.
Inadequate security. Daycares are required by Texas Health and Human Services Commission Minimum Standards Chapter 746 to maintain certain physical security measures. Failure to comply can create both regulatory and civil liability.
Failure to warn. A known hazard such as a recent spill, a broken light, or a vehicle that has reversed onto the walkway must be warned of immediately.
Note that the parent driver who actually caused the impact is also liable. Most daycare drop-off cases proceed against both the daycare's premises liability insurance and the at-fault parent driver's auto policy. Texas comparative fault rules govern how damages are allocated.
Waivers and Releases You Sign at Enrollment
Most El Paso daycares present a stack of paperwork at enrollment that includes some form of liability waiver. These waivers are usually unenforceable for several reasons under Texas law:
Pre-injury releases for negligence are disfavored. Texas courts will not enforce a release that purports to waive future negligence claims against a service provider unless the release is conspicuous, specific, and supported by adequate consideration. Most enrollment forms fail at least one of these tests.
Releases cannot waive claims for gross negligence. No release can shield a defendant from liability for gross negligence under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 41.001.
Parental waivers of a child's claims are voidable. A parent generally cannot waive a minor child's personal injury claim. The Texas Supreme Court has held that such waivers, even when signed by both parents, do not bind the child.
If you have signed an enrollment form, do not assume the case is over. Bring the form to your attorney along with the rest of the daycare paperwork.
What to Do After a Daycare Drop-Off Injury in El Paso
The steps in the first 24 hours:
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Get medical attention. Take the child to the emergency room or a pediatric urgent care, depending on severity. Pediatric injuries can present hours after the impact, especially head injuries.
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Document the scene. Photos of the injury, the location, the surface or condition involved, any vehicles, and the broader drop-off lane setup. Multiple angles, with time stamps if possible.
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Request the incident report. Texas Health and Human Services Commission rules require daycares to document every injury that requires medical attention. Get a copy before you leave.
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Ask about surveillance footage. Many daycares have parking lot cameras. Footage is often overwritten within 30 days. An attorney can send a preservation letter immediately.
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Identify witnesses. Other parents, staff members, and any vendors on the property. Get names and phone numbers.
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Save all daycare paperwork. Enrollment forms, waivers, parent handbooks, incident communication, and any text messages from staff.
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Do not give a recorded statement. The daycare's liability insurance and any at-fault parent's auto insurance will reach out within days. Decline to speak before consulting an attorney.
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Contact a personal injury attorney within days. Surveillance and incident reports are time-sensitive evidence.
How Lovett & Murray Helps El Paso Families After Daycare Injuries
For more than 30 years, Lovett & Murray has represented El Paso parents and children in premises liability cases ranging from simple slip-and-fall claims to complex multi-defendant daycare lane crashes. We know the operators, the property managers, and the insurance carriers in this market. We know which waivers are enforceable and which are not. We know which surveillance systems retain footage and for how long.
We offer free consultations. We work on contingency. Our bilingual team handles every step in English or Spanish. Our partners Rob Lovett and Russell Murray personally review every daycare injury case. Our principal office is in El Paso.
If your child or you were hurt in a daycare drop-off lane anywhere in El Paso, contact us today for a free, no-obligation evaluation. Call us at 915-757-9999 or use our online form. The incident report and surveillance footage are time-sensitive evidence. Move quickly.