A private records checklist for parents
After a Child Is Injured at Preschool or Daycare
30-second answer
Get appropriate medical care. Save the written notice, facility messages, medical papers, original media, agency numbers, and expenses. Ask focused questions about records concerning your child, identify possible video custodians, and protect every child's privacy.
Legal information from Wildeboer Legal · Updated August 8, 2026
Do this now
- 1Get medical care and save ambulance, hospital, pediatrician, medication, imaging, therapy, and follow-up papers.
- 2Ask for the written incident or injury notice concerning your child and identify the facility's legal name, license type, and follow-up contact.
- 3Preserve emails, texts, portal messages, voicemails, sign-in records, attendance information, closure notices, and substitute-care expenses already available to you.
- 4Write down police, fire, ambulance, building-inspection, and insurance details, plus possible camera locations and the people or entities that may control them.
- 5Create a private dated timeline of the incident, symptoms, treatment, communications, missed work, and added childcare costs.
Avoid this
- Do not repeatedly question or coach the child, alter original records, trespass, or interfere with an investigation.
- Do not demand or publish another child's name, image, medical information, or private facility records.
- Do not sign a broad authorization, reimbursement agreement, or release until you understand whose rights and claims it affects.
Save these
- Written incident or injury notice concerning your child
- Emergency, hospital, pediatrician, therapy, and follow-up records
- Original photos, video, portal messages, texts, emails, and voicemails
- Enrollment, emergency-contact, attendance, sign-in, and pickup records
- Police, fire, ambulance, licensing, and building-inspection details
- Possible camera locations, custodians, and relevant time windows
- Insurance messages, bills, receipts, missed-work records, and childcare costs
- A private dated log of symptoms, behavior changes, calls, and documents received
Common questions
Does every preschool use the same California incident form?
No. Reporting duties and forms depend on the facility's actual license and program type. Ask for the legal facility name, license type, and written notice concerning your child.
Can I request video from the facility?
You can identify the possible custodian and make a focused request, but do not assume video exists or that every file must be released. Prompt legal advice may help with preservation before routine overwriting.
Should I post updates so witnesses can find us?
Protect the child's privacy. Preserve public reports privately and avoid posting medical documents, detailed recovery claims, accusations, or information about other children.
What if a city or public school program may be involved?
Special public-entity claim procedures and shorter deadlines may apply. California Government Code section 911.2 generally uses a six-month presentation period for personal-injury claims, subject to other rules and exceptions.
Want more detail?
Read the full explanation
Child Injured at a California Preschool or Daycare? Records to SaveOfficial resources
- California Code of Regulations, title 22, section 101212: Child care center reporting requirements (opens in a new window)
- California Department of Social Services form LIC 624: Unusual Incident/Injury Report (opens in a new window)
- California Government Code section 911.2: Public-entity claim presentation period (opens in a new window)
Questions about your situation?
Talk with Arta Wildeboer
A short guide cannot account for every fact. A free consultation can help you understand the next step without pressure.