COURTESY FINNEY INJURY LAW
A bottle warmer led to severe burns for one local toddler. Now his family is suing.
Tiara Cornell is suing the owner of Kids Biz Preparatory, a licensed childcare center in Hazelwood. She says her then 18-month-old son, who is being identified only by his initials, JC, was "negligently supervised" while at the center in May 2019 — and that a hot bottle warmer was left "unguarded" and his proximity. When he pulled on the cord, scalding water poured onto his arm.
"Following the incident, Ms. Cornell was contacted by the daycare to pick up her son and upon arriving at the daycare, it was obvious to Ms. Cornell that [JC ]was in need of immediate medical attention as he was crying inconsolably from the pain, and his skin was blistering and peeling off his arm," the lawsuit says. When she took him to the emergency room, he was treated for second-degree burns.
"Every safe daycare knows that bottle warmers containing scalding hot liquid must be guarded from access by children at all times," the suit continues. "Kidz Biz Preparatory knew or should have known that the bottle warmer placement posed a danger to [JC]."
The suit says an independent investigation by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services found that "reckless acts" led to the incident, and the childcare center was cited by the state agency. The suit lists dozens of times Kids Biz has been cited by the state in recent years, with a roster of citations ranging from failing to meet training requirements to failing to keep medicine out of children's reach.
Kids Biz Preparatory did not respond to an email seeking comment yesterday.
Cornell's suit alleges negligence, negligent hiring/training and negligent supervision. The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in St. Louis County Circuit Court by Finney Injury Law of Brentwood.
“It is the law and common sense to keep hazardous appliances like bottle warmers away from curious toddlers,” Finney Injury Law attorney Chris Finney said in a statement. “Plain and simple, this entire incident was preventable. Kidz Biz Preparatory simply disregarded all safety laws meant to protect children, like our client’s son, from these severe bottle warmer burns.”
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