A newborn baby girl suffered second-degree burns after a nurse applied a wet, hot diaper to her foot.
The incident occurred at a hospital. The parents of the baby said their child was supposed to be getting a PKU test, which is a routine blood draw for newborns.
But what happened next left them in shock.
“My baby has second-degree burns on her foot and ankle and now we are just trying to get her treated,” Spencer, the baby’s father, told KPRC. “They got a diaper and filled it full of water and put it in the microwave and then applied to my baby’s ankle and foot, which caused second-degree — severe second-degree — burns.”
The nurse taking care of the baby allegedly slapped the wet, hot diaper on the baby’s heel before pricking her with a needle and drawing blood.
Spencer decided to sue the hospital, so he hired attorney Tim to represent him in court.
“The nurse took a diaper, wet it and put in a microwave and then put it on the baby’s heel and hurt the heel,” Tim said. “I’ve been representing children with injuries for 16 years and I’ve never heard of this happening.”
The hospital has since issued a statement to the news station.
“The safety and care of our patients is our utmost concern,” it read. “We are aware of the complaint, and are conducting a thorough investigation that is ongoing. The hospital is committed to providing high quality health services to the communities we serve.”
Several social media users were outraged with the nurse’s actions.
“The nurse is obviously incompetent. She should be reported to the State Board of Nursing where she will most likely lose her nursing license,” wrote one Facebook user. “Parents should sue because no competent nurse would ever do this and should also sue the hospital. This poor infant. Prayers for full recovery.”
“The nurse who did this should have her license pull for life,” wrote another. “I have to have warm compresses in order for them to draw blood, and no one has ever heated the towel it in a microwave.”
“She should be fired and her license should be taken away. Hope they get the treatment they need, free of course and some money for what the hospital did into the baby,” commented another user. “Shame they couldn’t be right without attorneys involved.”
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