Mother accuses childcare center of neglect after her child fractured her ankle under their watch

CAIRNS, QUEENSLAND: A Cairns woman has blasted a Queensland childcare center after her child allegedly got a fracture on her ankle while under their supervision.

The mother has also reportedly accused the center of neglecting her toddler for hours while she was in pain.

The alleged incident happened on September 14 after the unidentified mother left her two children at the center in the morning, Daily Mail reported.

Later in the day at around 2:30 pm, the mother came to take the kids back home when she saw that her two-year-old daughter was sleeping.

The workers at the center informed her that the little girl, who is autistic, tripped but she was doing fine. But the woman told 7NEWS, “When (she) woke up, she was crying.”

“I tried putting her down in the foyer (but) she immediately screamed,” she claimed.

The woman also reportedly said, “(The staff) weren't sure why she had been upset all day. 

“She wouldn't stop crying even with me holding her. I was getting stressed. She wouldn't let me put her down… she screamed all the way home.”

What did the doctors say?

The woman revealed that soon after getting home, she called triple-0 and her child was taken to Cairns Hospital.

Following an examination, the mother was told that her daughter suffered a broken tibia, an injury “more common with athletes than with small children”.

“They [Doctors] said it was a significant break in the tibia, typically seen in athletic injuries,” she stated.

She also added, “Doctors have said [she would] have been in extreme pain all day and this would have been 'quite a fall' to do this.”

How did the alleged accident happen?

Daily Mail reported that a photo showed the child playing on a trampoline at nearly eight in the morning.

Later another photo was taken at 1 pm, which showed the girl crying and lying while her sibling attempted to make her feel better.

The mother has reportedly asked, “The (1 pm) picture of my child is of her crying and laying flat on the floor … and her sister trying to console her. Where was the care there?”

But the childcare center has refuted the accusations as they said, “At this point in time we still have not received any direct communication from the child's family.”

What did the authorities say?

The Department of Education has reportedly been probing the case as the center added, “We have every confidence the department's investigation process will clear both the center and our staff of any wrongdoing or neglect.”

Besides, the Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (ECRA) has also been involved in analyzing the incident as a spokesperson said, “As the Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (ECRA), the department places the highest priority on the health, safety, and wellbeing of all children attending these services.”

“The ECRA is actively investigating this incident to establish the relevant facts and address any immediate risks.

"As the matter is currently under investigation the department is unable to make further comment at this time,” they added.