A Texas daycare is under investigation by Child Protection Services after a 15-month-old lost her fingertip from a door closing on it, and staff called the child’s mother instead of 911.
Danielle Hurt was outraged when she showed up to Early Learning Center 2 in Cypress, Texas, and reportedly was handed a plastic bag with part of her daughter’s finger inside.
Hurt told ABC13 that she saw the surveillance video of the incident and believes the daycare facility neglected her daughter Madilyn twice. She says that the video shows her daughter walking inside from the outside playground on June 2 and a teacher, who wasn’t paying attention, allowed the door to close on Madilyn’s finger while it was still inside of the doorway.
The staff then called Hurt to pick up her child instead of immediately calling 911 so the finger could be reattached sooner.
“And then they said, ‘Oh, we need to give you her finger.’ And I was like, ‘What?’ I wasn’t aware that an actual good portion of her finger was in a plastic bag until I got ready to go. They did not let me know that upfront,” Hurt said to ABC13.
Hurt said that emergency room doctors at Texas Children’s Hospital were able to reattach the finger but says it will likely fall off.
“It will become like a life-long deformity. She’ll never have that portion of her finger,” Hurt said to ABC13.
Early Learning Center, which is operated by Cy-Fair ISD, sent a statement to ABC13 regarding what happened that day.
“Immediately after the accident occurred, the staff administered first aid to the child and called the child’s mom, who quickly arrived at the center and voluntarily transported her child to a medical facility. The incident was determined to be an accident; both the teacher and director remain employed by the district,” the statement read in part.
Staff also said that the incident was self-reported to the state, but the report isn’t publicly listed yet. Texas Child Protection Services also still has an ongoing investigation.
“This can’t be an accident if a teacher allows the door to amputate a good portion of a child’s finger. It can’t be an accident,” Hurt said.
Madilyn’s right hand is in a full cast, and Hurt is looking to press negligence charges. She wants the teacher and director terminated as well.
