FAMILY to sue hospital after nurse drops baby

Parents outraged after nurse dropped their premmie newborn on his head. “The nurse is not suspended; she has not been fired; there is no punishment for her.”

According to The Intelligencer, Baby Kieran was being cared for by a nurse in a special-care nursery in Belleville General Hospital in Canada when the nurse accidentally fell asleep while feeding him, waking to Kieran crying on the floor.

“I received a phone call at 8am saying that the nurse had fallen asleep feeding him and woke up to him crying on the floor,” says mum, Kelsey Bond, of the hospital department’s manager’s phone call.

“She said she was sorry … and that a pediatrician had looked at [Kieran] and said he was fine.”

“You’re supposed to be notified right away,” Kelsey says.

Despite being told her baby was OK, Kelsey noticed swelling and redness on the right side of Kieran’s head, prompting her to demand for an ultrasound and CT scan of her son’s scan.

What the scans showed is nothing short of alarming.

These tests revealed that the paediatrician was gravely mistaken; Kieran’s skull had suffered a depressed fracture and an acute subdural hematoma – the collection of blood between the brain and skull.

While the hospital’s management team have publicly apologised, this hasn’t deterred Kelsey from suing the hospital for what happened Keiran, based on “neglect”.

“The nurse is not suspended; she has not been fired; there is no punishment for her.”

Apologetic hospital officials say they are investigating the “unusual and unfortunate incident” involving a “very experienced, highly-qualified, great nurse.”

Ms Bond said she is “frustrated” and “irritated” and not satisfied by any apology.

“An apology doesn’t fix what happened,” she said. “This is my child’s life.

“When I think about it, my heart’s basically in my stomach.”

She said the nurse remained in the same role. Ms Bond said she feels the nurse should not be allowed to work at BGH, on late shifts or with children, though she did not oppose entirely her working as a nurse.

“If she was tired she shouldn’t have gone to work.

“She’s risking children’s lives, and these aren’t just normal, full-term babies. They need special care.”

“We are doing a lawsuit for neglect,” she said. Ms Bond said it was too early to estimate the amount of financial compensation the suit would seek, but that she wants Keiran to be compensated.

Share your comments below.

Image via Intelligencer

17 Comments

- - mom94125 said
  - 16 Oct 2017
    4:31 pm
nope i would be mad with that situation. People need to have some personal standards and decency

- - ella12 said
  - 21 Mar 2017
    12:16 pm
This is terrible, the hospital appears to sugar coat what happened. It is totally unacceptable. Good on her for pressing forward with this issue.

- - Number One Mum said
  - 15 Mar 2017
    11:23 pm
Good on you Maddie for being honest before someone told the magazine”s and they would of it’s your child it’s your life you do what is best for you and your family good on you for your honesty don’t worry what the hatters have to say take NO NOTICE MADDIE good on you

- - mom101628 said
  - 15 Mar 2017
    10:37 pm
I am thinking one should sue the paediatrician who didn’t do any scans and said the child was alright. Accidents do happen, so feel sorry for the nurse, but the hospital is wrong here and she is right to sue to cover future problems her baby might have

- - robyn_smithwick said
  - 15 Mar 2017
    5:28 pm
Bloody hell! If you feel too tired to handle a baby ask someone else to do it. That sickens me .I WAS A MIDWIFE FOR A LONG TIME wHAT that poor mum must be going through!.

- - sars_angelchik said
  - 15 Mar 2017
    5:04 pm
That’s horrible. Families put all their trust into the staff at hospitals and it is up to them to keep babies safe when it is out of parents hands.

- - cherz said
  - 15 Mar 2017
    4:45 pm
Hoping and praying little Kieran recovers well and grows and thrives with no ill effects.

- - tessie said
  - 15 Mar 2017
    11:33 am
This could have been disastrous. I agree that the nurse shouldn’t be working with babies if she was so tired. I know it was an accident but it doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be reprimanded. I hope Kieran recovers and has no lasting side effects.

- - rovermum said
  - 15 Mar 2017
    11:22 am
This is a terrible accident that should never have occurred. There is so much about this that is sad and harrowing, for both sides. A sick baby has been dropped. Not good enough. You leave your child in care and the hospital is responsible. They need to support the family in every way possible.

- - Ellen said
  - 15 Mar 2017
    7:34 am
An awful accident, with huge effect. Of course it shouldn’t have happened, but accidents happen and nobody is perfect. I remember I dropped my boy once. I fell asleep when I was feeding him and next I found him on the floor. Luckily we had carpets, but I remember how shocked I was.
When I worked in the hospital we always had big discussion who worked when. Late night shifts and night duty are unavoidable, but not everyone reacts physical well on it.

- - mom101628 said
  - 15 Mar 2017
    1:09 am
It should not have happened, but it was an accident. I hate thinking of suing for everything these days.

- - Aussieladee said
  - 15 Mar 2017
    1:06 am
She should be suing the federal govt for the terrible conditions that nurses work under. Long hours on their feet during hours that we normally sleep is enough to make anyone tired, nurses would not consider staying home because they were tired because it is part of the job. A chronic shortage of nurses in all public hospitals means that they often work when tired & over worked.
The injury was an accident & not intentional but the Pediatrician should have made further investigations as soon as they were asked to look the child over.
I can understand the mother being angry & wanting to hurt someone but the nurse is not at fault here, perhaps the parents should stay with their child 24/7 instead of leaving it to nursing staff to care for it. When any of my children have been in hospital I stayed there with them sleeping on a chair, never would I consider not being there to watch over them.

- - nealsq said
  - 14 Mar 2017
    8:31 pm
the trials of being a premmie mum is hard enough without such a horrible accident to deal with

- - BlueJuniper said
  - 14 Mar 2017
    8:03 pm
As a mum of a premmie that spent 5 weeks in the SCN I totally understand. It is already one of the hardest times of a parents life, and for this to happen is inexcusable. I hope baby Keiran is OK and goes on to lead a full and happy life.

- - june11 said
  - 14 Mar 2017
    5:58 pm
What is the long term prognosis for this tiny one? It is a very serious head injury A fractured skull and no bleeding in a fit adult has a recovery process. Surely the paediatrician should have had scans done automatically and not wait for his Mum to arrive and find the marks.
This is one case where I believe the parents should take action.

- - mom83823 said
  - 14 Mar 2017
    5:31 pm
Accident like this should NOT happen in a Special Care Nurse. The nurse should be taken off night duty. On the other hand to happen to a very experienced nurse which must be very hard on her. Sympathies to both parties.

- - mom112217 said
  - 14 Mar 2017
    1:31 pm
I do wish them luck with the law suit,it should not of happen!