Educational excess: who is responsible for the injuries of children in kindergartens
The staff of a kindergarten in Makhachkala, where a child's finger was torn off, can avoid real imprisonment, lawyers interviewed by Izvestia say. After the incident, two teachers and a nanny were arrested, and criminal cases were opened under articles on negligence and on the provision of services that do not meet safety requirements, the Investigative Committee of the republic indicated. In Makhachkala, inspections are carried out in all preschool institutions. The information about who is responsible for the incident is in the Izvestia article.
How a child lost a finger
A three-year-old girl who lost a toe in a kindergarten in Makhachkala was discharged from a medical facility, Huseyn Rustamov, head of the Department of traumatology at the Republican Children's Clinical Hospital, told Izvestia.
A high-profile incident occurred on May 8. The republican investigative committee reported that the parents discovered the damage after they returned home with the child. They immediately turned to the doctors, who helped the girl.
Parents of children from the same group in social networks claim that after the incident, the staff of the institution did not call the doctors — the child was allegedly given an injection and put to sleep.
"According to the mother, the severed finger was hidden in the child's tights — under the foot. And then they handed the girl over to her parents already fully dressed, as if nothing had happened," one of the parents writes on social networks.
The father of the injured girl, Asker Babayev, confirmed to Izvestia that the child's finger was placed in tights in the foot area. After that, the girl's grandmother found it when she was changing her clothes — the finger fell into her hand.
— The staff of the kindergarten, who is guilty of what they did, did not give us, in the literal sense of the word, the opportunity to save him. When we arrived at the hospital, the doctors stated that the finger had become dead at least two hours ago," the man said.
Huseyn Rustamov also said that it was already impossible to save the finger.
The Investigative Committee has opened criminal cases under articles on negligence and on the provision of services that do not meet safety requirements. Two employees of the institution were given a preventive measure in the form of detention.
According to the child's father, now the girl does not let anyone near her, except for her mother, and constantly cries.
— I am sure that justice will prevail, and in the end we will find out the truth that we offered these people to tell. But they have neither the conscience nor the morals to tell their parents, looking into their eyes, what happened," the man emphasized.
In Makhachkala, on behalf of the head of the city, working groups have been set up to inspect all kindergartens, Shagane Baymurzayeva, head of the Makhachkala Education Department, told Izvestia. According to her, she has never encountered anything like this and cannot believe what happened.
"The very fact that a child in an area where he should be loved and where he should be protected has suffered such stress is unacceptable to us at all," she said.
Who will be responsible
The algorithm of actions in case of accidents for employees of kindergartens and schools is defined by a separate order of the Ministry of Education and Science, said Anton Pivovarov, a lawyer at the Moscow Sed Lex Bar Association. It says that educators or teachers are required to immediately provide first aid to the victim, if necessary, take the child to a medical facility, and inform the parents and their superiors about the incident.
— A child may swallow a small toy, slip and fall, or pinch his finger on the door. That is why a medical worker is required to be present in every children's institution," Pivovarov said.
The lawyer stressed that educators are required to undergo training in order to know how to act in case of emergencies and accidents.
The basis for criminal prosecution of kindergarten employees are cases when a child is injured due to improper performance of their duties by staff, lack of control, violation of safety rules, or inaction by officials, said Oleg Kim, lawyer and partner at Legal Advisor Law Office.
"But judicial practice shows that actual imprisonment in such cases is not imposed in all cases," he said. — Courts often impose fines, restrictions or conditional imprisonment, or a ban on holding positions related to working with children.
For example, in January 2026, the kindergarten head was fined in Abakan. A six-year-old child there lost the phalanges of two fingers when he started playing with a faulty simulator. The woman was found guilty of negligence. The manager knew about the malfunction of the equipment, but did not remove it from the room where the children were, the regional Investigative Committee said. The harm to health was classified as moderate.
But if we are talking about a gross violation of duties, causing serious harm to the child's health, then the punishment can be much stricter.
"According to the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on the provision of services that do not meet the requirements of life or health safety, the sanction provides for up to six years in prison," Oleg Kim said.
For example, in May 2014 in Krasnoyarsk, a four-year-old girl, left unattended by kindergarten staff, entered a buffet and knocked over a kettle of boiling water. The child suffered burns to 10% of his body. The court sentenced the teacher's assistant to imprisonment for a period of one year to be served in a correctional colony of the general regime.
Employees of children's institutions are always responsible for the life and health of children, Oleg Kim emphasized.
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