Mum accuses childcare staff of severing one-year-old daughter's finger
An American mother is suing a childcare centre after her one-year-old daughter has lost the top of her ring finger following an alleged accident.
Erin Kays is refusing to accept the Washington daycare's explanation that her daughter fell off her rocking chair and injured her finger.
Speaking to KIRO 7, Ms Kays claims that her little girl has been going to the centre since she was five months old.
'It's your baby, and a chunk of her finger is just not there,' she told the news station. 'It's in a little plastic bag next to you. It was devastating.'
King 5 News reports that the mother was provided with an 'Ouch Report', which claimed the little girl was standing on the chair when it tipped over and 'hurt her finger' For treatment, the childcare centre provided ice.
Ms Kay rushed her daughter to hospital as soon as she saw the bleeding and severe wound.
Ms Kays claims doctors weren't able to reattach the top of Leigha's finger, 'so we have no idea if she will need surgery or special care in the future'.
'The fact remains that my daughter is missing part of her finger,' Ms Kays wrote.
'Our investigation has revealed that it was most likely a teacher that caused the injury. We have decided to take legal actions and pursue a lawsuit,' A GoFundMepage for Ms Kay's daughter claims.
The page also reads, 'A reliable source informed us that one of the teachers at the day care (it hasn't come to light who that person is) sat down in the rocker, rocking back over my daughter's finger.
'The day care had the audacity to blame my daughter for this incident.'
Ms Kays adds, 'The day care removed the rocking chair from facility while we were still in the hospital.'
The director of the centre, Jan Alger, told King 5 News staff did 'everything they were supposed to do.'
'We were not negligent,' she said.
According to the Washington State Department of Early Learning's Child Care Check, five complaints have been made against the daycare centre between January 31, 2012 and January 30, 2018.
Ms Kays added she's filed a report with Child Protective Services and police.
This article originally appeared on New Idea.
