To consider suing nursery

[atatotalloss4]

I have a beautiful little girl, she is 2 years old and has been in nursery for 8 months. She's come on ever so well and people often comment how well she speaks and lovely manners, I give much of the credit of this to the nursery.

However, there was an incident last week that has left her on antibiotics with a large open sore on her inner thigh. I won't post pictures because they are frankly upsetting but I'll detail how it happened.

8-9 children with 3 (youngest members of staff) went to a park for a picnic, about a 10 minute walk from the nursery. My child had a full well nappy upon arrival, the didn't change her. She then soiled her nappy which leaked considerably, onto her back and thighs. They didn't want to end the trip early for the other children so kept my child in this state for around an hour. Then made her walk back to nursery. This caused the full nappy to fall down and rub her thigh, resulting in this horrible sore. It's about the size of my palm and the GP was aghast at how bad it is. She has been unable to sleep because she can't get comfy, the antibiotics are causing her an upset tummy and she is utterly reluctant to walk resulting in a sort of waddle then she asks to be carried.

The leggings she was in were sent home and they are in an awful state, you can also see how bad they are on picture they uploaded to the nursery app whilst out.

I wasn't contacted about this, nor told at pick up, I found out when I changed her at home and saw the state she was in.

Apparently the staff involved have been given a formal warning and it seems that's that.

Would I be ridiculous to chase this up legally? I'm heartbroken my tiny innocent child was treated with such contempt, it's heartbreaking hearing her cry and unable to walk.

Someone please just give me an outside perspective because im so sad for her im no longer sure if im even thinking straight about it. Thank you x

She's such a little sweetheart, always smiling. Never complains and rarely cries. I just don't know how they could have done it to her, her wee face 😔

ibb.co/yBDTNRz

I work in a nursery and this is awful to read. I would definitely report it to ofsted, its neglect.
I hope your daughter gets better soon!

Please report to OFSTED. How absolutely horrendous. Your poor girl - I'd be raging too.

Oh my goodness
your poor little girl

You are not over reacting
That is neglect

The age of the staff caring for the children is irrelevant; they are employed as professionals, that’s how they should behave

I would absolutely speak to your solicitor and indeed the police
they have caused bodily harm

Report to ofsted and to the local authority safeguarding team
The nursery will have insurance
Compensation won’t repair the injuries but might help the logistics of covering the short term care
don’t be afraid to ‘make a fuss’
it’s absolutely unacceptable
I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this

No advice really but wanted to say your poor child, it's shocking!

I hope she is better soon.

That's child neglect.

I would report them to Ofsted. Look

I’m not sure I would sue because what are you going to get out of it? Unless you’re out of pocket for removing her from nursery - in which case, I’d be seeking legal action to recover any additional costs.

Your poor baby though! That is one heck of a sore. :(

I live in the US and people would absolutely sue over something like this (and successfully; the picture looks horrible), however not sure how much you can gain from it in the UK. Maybe chat to a lawyer and decide, it might just be more hassle and costs for you. I definitely agree with reporting to Ofsted even if they say they self reported.

It certainly sounds like a lack of staff issue and leaving inexperienced unsuitable people in charge because of it.

This is awful. Antibiotics are no joke and can have life long effects when used on children that young. She could have also got a UTI.

Awful awful awful.

I've had to drop from 4 days a week to 2 because I have no childcare. And I understand I may well be overreacting but I don't want to send her anywhere, there are other nurseries locally but I don't trust anywhere to be kind to her and show even basic dignity and care.

Oh it's such a mess, but I massively appreciate your input everyone, I really do. I've been sat on this since Wednesday going back and forth and getting more upset.

Mothers guilt too! Isn't that silly? But I feel awful for ever sending her to nursery.

Police? Funding for short term care? Jeez its awful but it sounds like the nursery has taken it seriously and there are channels for reporting this which are appropriate and it likely will be investigated and be very serious for the nursery. It's not kind to extend to ridiculousness when the OP is already upset and distressed.

Nursery staff won't change nappies whilst out and about unless there are adequate changing facilities. They wouldn't just do it in a park.

I used to work in a nursery that hated changing nappies and I reported to Ofsted but it's still open to this day

Im actually so upset by this post that im just going to paste my reply here again ...

@atatotalloss4 This is neglect and a safeguarding issue you are not overreacting .

So i will say this again ...

"@atatotalloss4 your post has really upset me.

My 2DC are 17 and 15 but i would be heartbroken if this were my tot.

Im a qualified nurse and what springs to mind, is that if this were an adult in hospital or a care home this would be a pressure sore as a result of friction and neglect.

Neglect . I will just leave that word there. I know what i would be doing .

( and dont forget many solicitors offer a free 30 minutes)

I would leave court for now, that'll be more trouble than it's worth.

I'd focus on getting them closed down. Report to Ofsted. Make it known publicly in your local area via word of mouth/Facebook etc.

Poor baby :(

When my oldest was a toddler I took her to a new clinic based on a referral from my SIL. The doctor noticed some ear wax in her ear and ended up puncturing her eardrum in the process of removing the wax. She screamed for a long time at the clinic, and the doctor did nothing to help her. I didn’t know what happened yet, at home she fell asleep and I saw blood coming from her ear. So I take her to the ER, and they said she needs a specialist, which they couldn’t refer her to without a referral from the doctor at the clinic, who refused to give it. She said it was nothing, and she didn’t need a specialist. It took another day of arguing and threatening the doctor to get the referral. Finally we see the specialist and he’s shocked at what happened, as a solid object should never be put in the ear, only saline spray. The stick she used was also dirty, and caused a staph infection in the punctured eardrum. My daughter could have died, especially because the doctor refused to let her be seen by the specialist. It’s only because I fought so hard she finally was seen. I called up lawyers immediately. I wanted to take this doctor down. But no one would take the case, as a serious long term effect would have to proven. And even then they probably wouldn’t make enough money off of it for it to be worth it to anyone. I did my know what else to do so I felt my hands were tied. I’m still upset about it years later, and my daughter now a teenager thinks I’m being silly. She doesn’t remember and her ear healed. Maybe I could have gone another route, maybe reporting her to a higher authority. There’s not a lot of accountability. I am in the US so maybe things work differently. I doubt it’s much different though. I don’t think suing will be fruitful. However, is there a governing board the daycare reports to? Who licensed them? Who inspects their building and makes sure they have the proper child/teacher ratio? I would research who they answer to, and report them. They would then be disciplined by that authority. You can only have so many infractions before they are shut down. Again, there’s not a lot of accountability there either, I’ve heard of daycares that had many warnings before a child actually died and they were finally shut down. But maybe it’s a better situation where you live. Definitely try as hard as you can, you don’t want to feel guilty in years to come, as your daughter will forget but you won’t. Make sure you write everything down and save all photos, you’ll need that. I think they should have fired the workers responsible. Maybe if you report them and pressure them they will finally do something more severe than a warning.

I'm sorry this is upsetting, it's why I didn't post the pictures in the main OP, but I massively appreciate your reply and support, you're very kind x

A safeguarding incident needs logging with the local council.

A child has come to harm through neglect - that is s clearcut safeguarding referral.

Your post made me feel really upset for you both. Your poor girl, I hope she recovers soon. That sounds absolutely horrific. Glad you’ve taken her out and I would certainly be reporting this to Ofsted if I were you.

Poor baby! That’s evil. You did the right thing taking her out!

report to Ofsted also

I'd hit the roof!
Make sure every other parent knows.

Oh your poor girl!
I worked in nurseries for 10+ years and have never came across anything so horrible, the ages of those staff is irrelevant they are trained professionals and should be held accountable as such.

Echoing the advice a lot of pp's have given, contact ofsted and lado asap this needs investigating urgently. As a parent id be going to the papers and making sure as many parents as possible from that nursery knew about this to stop it from happening again.

I hope she recovers quickly op and it doesn't put you off nurseries completely, there are some lovely ones out there with staff who care for those children like their own!

You're speaking to a solicitor who should be able to tell you if you have a case. i wouldn't listen to anyone on MN saying it's unlikely etc because this is for a person injury lawyer to advise on. i would have thought no win no fee would be possible so no outlay for you, but check with the lawyer. The reasons to sue are potential financial compensation for your daughter because she has been negligently injured and also because money talks and so the nursery is more likely to stop this from happening again if it feels "real" consequences. YANB at all. All the excuses about short staffing and Brexit are irrelevant. they weren't short staffed, they were incompetent and lazy. if those are the only candidates applying the nursery needs to have fewer children because it doesn't have good enough staff to sustain numbers. employing awful people to keep numbers up is prioritising profit over child safety and is just greedy. children are too vulnerable to be left to this risk. no sympathy for the nursery. if you successfully sue them and they close down because they can't afford the insurance next year then frankly they had it coming. hope your poor daughter recovers soon and doesn't have any memories of this. those responsible should have lost their jobs. again, the nursery has its priorities in the wrong place.

@atatotalloss4 you need the kindness and support my lovely , i am enraged on your behalf .

In my experience we reported to ofsted and they did cock all . Nursery failed to safeguard our DS from harm and we had a similar trip to OOH.

We also had to pull him out of nursery and he then went to a pre-school which was so much better ( and the staff were all older and had years of experience ),

You could make a claim for personal injury on behalf of your daughter. You do not need a solicitor for this - you can file a ‘Small claim’ for up to £10k online. Depending on the amount you claim, the court fees scale up (max of £450ish). You will need to demonstrate loss, e.g. any costs you accrue changing nursery, costs for medication, cleaning/replacement costs for her soiled clothes, but with the pictures and if you can get copies of hospital records, you can show injury has been suffered by your little one, even if it won’t be long term/disabling etc.To manage expectations, you would be unlikely to receive a huge amount unless she is left with a scar.

The nursery will have Public Liability insurance in place and per the circumstances outlined above, I’d certainly say there is sufficient grounds to claim injury as a direct result of negligence by the employees. The nursery owners/management are responsible for ensuring any individuals undertaking duties for them are fully qualified/trained, equipped and appropriately resourced. If they are short staffed and corners are being cut/less experienced staff are being relied upon to provide care that is beyond their capability then they are at fault.

Having worked for a large, well known UK corporate and being on the receiving end of such claims, many of which were very spurious, I’m usually totally against the compensation culture, but in this case I really think you should consider it.

Hope she feels better soon.

What country are you in OP? Just because you said your DD called you mommy, are you in the US? If so, definitely look into suing, it’s much more litigious than in the UK where most PPs are.