Can I sue for reckless endangerment or negligence? This incident needs to signal change….?

[snowbunnyninja]

Ill keep the particular chain of restaurants anonymous for now….

Long of the sort - I brought my child to eat and play at a certain fast food chain. After a few minutes of playing in the play place - I noticed her once black paints had turned rust colored. I ran up to her, and could distinctively smell that it was bleach!! My husband entered the play place only to discover that there were puddles of bleach throughout!! We ran in to get the manager, who told is that it wasn't bleach and that they didn't have any bleach in the store. The maintenance guy then came out and confirmed that they did, and although they were not suppose to use bleach there, someone clearly had. After a few minutes my daughter started screaming that her legs and buns were burning.... she then started digging at her face and mouth a bit, so I know those were clearly burning too, as he hands were covered in bleach.

Other than skin irritation my daughter is fine, thank goodness the bleach did not make it's way into her eyes (she is only 2) or she did not ingest significant amounts. The owner has called is and admitted that he had an outside company hired to come "professionally" clean and power wash the play area. This is a huge no-no, as the area is only to be cleaned with certain solutions! I can't believe no one did a safety check of any type!

I feel that it is a clear case of reckless endangerment and negligence, and even though my daughter is okay, she keeps talking about "the burn" which breaks my heart. I fully think the company should be held liable for this and don't want this to happen to anyone else. Thoughts? What action can I take?
thank you for those of you who are providing USEFUL information.

1. I did actually take my child into the bathroom to rinse her off while my husband dealt with the manager/maintenance guy. We left the restaurant with her stripped down to a diaper… We went home because it was the closest location, and on the way, were on the phone with her pediatrician. She told us how to treat her immediately, and provided the warning signs to watch for - none of which happened besides a hoarse voice, which they said was most likely from the fumes but was okay so long as she was acting normally… Her skin was red, but no blisters or open wounds.

2. There was no door in my description - it was actually an outside location, which was why we didn't smell it before she entered the structure. Apparently a concentrated bleach powder had been spread and left there for sometime (according to the owner). It rained the previous day, so the fact that these potent puddles were still leftover was scary

[Mark IX]

Here's an idea - don't take your kid to fast food chains. Save yourself the effort of going out and just give her a couple of spoonfuls of fat and salt at home. Accidents happen, but you deliberately put your child in danger by feeding her crap. For shame.

[siamesedharma]

I have to ask, didn't it occur to you to take your daughter in the restaurant bathroom and rinse the bleach off her body? A two-year-old should be small enough to wash in a sink.

Did you take your daughter to the doctor? If you did, the restaurant should reimburse you for any medical expenses, and for the pants that were ruined. They would be responsible for the actions of the cleaning company that they hired.

Contact the company's corporate headquarters and let them know about this. They may be able to come to a settlement with you so you don't have to take legal action.

[Badge203]

Out for easy money huh?

First why didn't you take her to the bathroom and start cleaning her off. You knew there was a skin irritant but you instead wasted time trying to track down somebody

Second, did she receive medical attention (Doctor, medical emergency clinic, hospital emergency room)

If you could smell bleach, why did you let her stay in the room, you said when the door was opened you smelled bleach and you have to admit bleach has a strong smell, no doubt about what it was

I do not for a minute believe that a professional cleaning company left that amount of bleach just laying around.

You need to be talking to a lawyer if you want to continue this, but it will not be an open checkbook case

[littlewheel947]

Probably you can. But honestly, someone made a mistake. You brought that mistake to their attention. if you go back one day and the same thing has happened, ok that is reckless. but suing someone because somebody made a mistake, and no one was actually hurt. that make you the bad guy in my book.

[Rosalie]

You certainly should have a claim, because there was harm done to your child. Proof would be in the pants and pictures of the bleach burns, or records from a doctor visit. It would have been better for you to have had her seen - both for your child's sake as well as for proof of the injury.

Injury law attorneys are like flies on jam. You should be able to bring suit against not only the fast food joint but also the cleaning contractor. They each are responsible for the safety of their guests.

Having your attorney send a letter to the corporate headquarters would be the most effective method- the local management would have to involve corporate anyway.

You are smart NOT to post the name of the company or restaurant, because until the details were proven, you could end up defending yourself in a slander case. Keep it between yourself and your attorney, and post nothing on social media or anywhere else in public.

Do go after them for what happened - and report it to OSHA and the local Board of Health, as well. The premises must be kept clean, but you also have a right to assume it is safe. This isn't a case of someone looking for a scam - a child was injured. Large companies have procedures for cleaning properly, and there are in fact OSHA rules so this shouldn't happen.

It isn't a mistake - it's a lack of skill, and probably a violation of safety code. When kids get hurt because of something someone did to either save money because they hired a cheap contractor, they are also guilty. When you're in the restaurant and hospitality business, you have that responsibility.