A MUM was horrified to learn her seven-month-old baby suffered a fractured skull at the very nursery where she worked.
Kiera Young, 26, felt confident to leave daughter Lexie Hurles with colleagues at Primrose City Nursery in Glasgow after working there for around two years.
But on the tot’s third settling in session – which was just two hours long – she fell and suffered a skull fracture and brain injury.
Young from Hogganfield only found out when she saw her daughter in distress at the arranged pickup time but to this day claims she remains unclear about how it happened.
The Care Inspectorate upheld all three complaints over the incident and Lexie’s family has now settled a five-figure legal action.
Young said: “That nursery was the very place where I worked so I felt safe to leave Lexie there.
“It’s not because I expected my daughter to get special care or anything like that - it was simply because I believed in the staff having worked beside them for so long.
“It just makes it all the worse when your own colleagues and bosses let you down in this way.
“What happened to my wee girl just proves childcare workers cannot take their eye off the ball for a moment - we’re lucky Lexie recovered but it could have been so much worse.
“I just don’t ever want to see another parent go through this kind of thing and feel speaking out is all parents can do to look out for each other.”
Lexie’s injury happened on March 24 2023.
After being taken to the Royal Hospital for Children in Govan, the infant was diagnosed with a skull fracture and mild brain injury.
She was discharged two days later but readmitted the following day after bouts of vomiting and fever – medics observed Lexie for another day before being confident with a medical discharge.
The tot continued to show signs of distress and discomfort for three months before finally being able to settle.
Young claims she was told two different versions of how the incident happened – one where Lexie was supervised and simply “threw her head back” which struck the floor, and a second account where the staff member moved away from her before she fell backwards.
Young – who to this day is unclear about what precisely happened – was unhappy with the nursery response and contacted the Care Inspectorate with three complaints alleging a lack in care, that nursery bosses failed to contact her quickly enough and that no copy of an accident report was provided when Lexie was collected.
The Care Inspectorate upheld all three complaints.
Young added: “Seeing your child like that… there’s no words… I was just horrified, terrified, furious… just thinking the worst about everything.
“It’s still a mystery what happened - I’ll never know for sure but the most important things are that Lexie is better, the nursery was held accountable and hopefully parents and nurseries learn something from this.”
Young made a nursery injury claim with Digby Brown Solicitors - agents for the nursery originally denied liability meaning a court action had to be raised.
However the nursery insurance company agreed to compensate the family with a five-figure sum in an out-of-court settlement.
Young no longer works for the nursery and is now focused on the future.
A Digby Brown spokesman said: “The pictures of Lexie’s injuries are shocking so one can only imagine how much scarier it must have been at the time for both mother and daughter.
“We’re pleased that Lexie recovered and that Kiera secured the outcome she sought.
“But this should rightly serve as an emphatic warning to childcare services everywhere – there are robust yet common-sense safety procedures for a reason and they simply must be adhered to if children are to stay safe.”
