A family is suing a Philadelphia day care their daughter was enrolled in after the tip of her finger was severed.
As the family told WPVI, they are suing the institution in order to learn what happened to their daughter’s finger and to prevent this from ever happening to another child.
According to WPVI, the incident occurred on August 6. However, while the incident resulted in the tip of Maliyah’s finger being severed, her mom, Barbara Busch, said that she doesn’t know how Maliyah got injured or who was supposed to be watching her at that time.
The parents were initially told that the infant’s fingertip got stuck in a door. Maliyah, who is just 10 months old, is too young to explain to her parents what happened.
the incident, Maliyah was taken by ambulance from the Principals Demonstration Preparatory Academy to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The family’s lawyer Sam Anyan explained that their “hope is the lawsuit will help the family, and maybe lead to improvements in procedures and protocols at the day care center, so other children are not [at] risk of being injured.”
As Anyan said, not only was this incident “avoidable,” but it was also “preventable.”
Busch told WPVI that doctors will continue to monitor Maliyah and the healing process. It’s possible that doctors will have to “do reconstruction” as Maliyah continues to grow.
According to Parents.com, here are eight tips for choosing good care for your child:
1. Look down. “When you’re visiting a potential site, pay attention to how the staff interacts with the children. Ideally, a caregiver should be on the floor playing with the kids or holding one on her lap.”
2. Ask for a commitment. “Babies need consistent, predictable care.”
3. Do a policy check. “Find out whether you share parenting philosophies.”
4. Drop by and spy. “While word-of-mouth referrals from other parents or trusted resources are important, you need to look at a place for yourself to assess whether it meets your needs.”
5. Keep talking. “Until your baby can talk, you will be relying on what the caregiver tells you about your child’s day.”
6. Problem-solve pronto. “It’s inevitable that you’ll experience conflicts with your caregiver, both large and small. Address problems right away rather than ignoring them until they grow out of proportion.”
7. Trust your gut. “Every parent knows when something doesn’t feel quite right.”
8. Be open to change. “You’re not married to a particular person or situation, and if things don’t work out, you can always make a switch.”
Principals Demonstration Preparatory Academy declined to comment when WPVI reached out to the day care. It’s unclear if the institution has any other infractions against them.
