Baby suffers fractured skull after nurse allegedly fell asleep during feeding
(FOX NEWS/WTXF) - A Canadian mother said she is planning to sue after a nurse who was caring for her premature son allegedly fell asleep while feeding him and woke to him crying on the floor. The alleged incident left Kelsey Bond's infant son, Keiran Keller, with a skull fracture, The National Post reported.
"I received a phone call at 8 o'clock in the morning saying that the nurse had fallen asleep feeding him and woke up to him crying on the floor," Bond, 19, told The National Post. "She said she was sorry … and that a pediatrician had looked at him and said he was fine."
Bond gave birth to Keiran and his twin brother, Kayden, at 29 weeks gestation at Kingston General Hospital on Dec. 23. They were transferred to Belleville General in February, where they were tended to in a special-care nursery, The National Post reported. Kayden was released Feb. 10, but Keiran had a lung condition and other health issues that required additional care.
Bond told the news outlet that on the evening of the Feb. 20 phone call regarding Keiran's fall, she arrived at Belleville General, and noticed his head looked red and swollen. A second pediatrician reportedly told her Kieran was fine.
"I had a gut feeling that everything wasn't OK," said Bond, according to The National Post.
Bond also reportedly discovered through a hospital document that she received the phone call five hours after the time of the fall.
According to Bond, the nurse involved in the incident was neither suspended nor fired.
After being transferred to Kingston, an ultrasound and CT scan revealed that Keiran suffered a depressed fracture to his skull and an acute subdural hematoma, The National Post reported.
Bond told the National Post it may take six months to a year for Kieran's injury to heal. Hospital officials are investigating the incident, and Quinte Health issued an apology to the family, but Bond stated her concerns are not being addressed. Quinte Health told the news outlet that the nurse did, in fact, report the incident immediately and that an investigation is ongoing.
The spokesperson told The National Post that "[their] staff is also human and so when things like this happen [they] are really sorry."
Bond has reportedly contacted a lawyer and plans to sue for neglect.
On the issue of the unidentified nurse and the potential that fatigue played a role in the incident, Bond said: "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."
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