Payout for family of baby badly burned at Aberdeen nursery
- Published
Blake Nilssen was badly injured in 2021
A family has received a five-figure payout after their 10-month-old son was burned by a bucket of boiled water containing bleach at an Aberdeen nursery.
Blake Nilssen, who is now two, was badly injured at Little Dreams Nursery in Aberdeen in November 2021.
Lawyers for the family said the out-of-court compensation would be set aside in a trust for Blake until he turns 16.
The nursery said it had taken the incident "extremely seriously".
It had emerged last year that staff failed to call an ambulance. Blake was taken to hospital after his parents were alerted.
The Care Inspectorate upheld a complaint against the nursery, which put new training in place.
At the time of the incident, Blake was placed into cold water, and staff then placed wet paper towels over the affected areas of his body, but a blister was said to have come off with the paper towel.
The Care Inspectorate said nursery staff should not have covered his burns with wet paper towels, and that cling film should have been placed onto the wounds rather than wrapped around.
Ellie Johnson, Blake's mother, said: "At the time I said this incident was indefensible and I still feel that way.
"There really was a sense that it shocked parents all over the country. Many people reached out with concern and support.
"Thankfully Blake has responded well to medical treatment but his recovery is not over. We still see some signs of emotional trauma, especially around water, but we're hopeful he will calm over time and things can improve for him."
'Painful episode'
She explained: "This was never about the money which is why we've taken steps to have the compensation put in a trust for our son for when he's older.
"It took a legal action to get the answers we deserved and get Little Dreams to hold their hands up.
"As a family we now just want to try and put this painful episode behind us and look forward."
Neil Davidson, of Digby Brown Solicitors in Aberdeen, led the legal action.
"No parent should have to worry about the welfare of their child when placing them into the care of professionals," he said.
"I sincerely hope parents and care providers everywhere consider the gravity of what happened in this very harrowing ordeal and take steps to ensure such incidents are never repeated."
The nursery told BBC Scotland: "This was an incident we have taken extremely seriously.
"As a local authority investigation into what happened is ongoing we cannot comment further, but we are of course giving this inquiry every support and assistance."
- Published11 January 2022
