SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A mother is speaking out after her 2-year-old daughter suffered second and third degree burns at a Southwest Miami-Dade daycare.
Ena Martinez said she was told a cup of hot tea fell on her 2-year-old-daughter, Leah. However, she is doubtful that this is the truth. “I just want answers. I want the truth. I don’t think we really got the truth,” Martinez said.
It began last August, when Martinez received a call from Leah’s daycare. “She said that Leah had got burned, not to freak out,” Martinez said.
According to Martinez, daycare owner Esperanza Ospina had an appointment the day of the incident and left her 22-year-old daughter in charge. Martinez said she was told that somehow, when Leah was out of sight, she managed to knock the cup of tea all over herself, sending her to the intensive care unit overnight.
A photo shows the marred parts of Leah’s body that were allegedly hit with the liquid. “She’s completely burned, from over here, her chest, her stomach, her thigh,” Martinez said. “I don’t think she really did get burned with a cup of hot tea, I mean how hot was she drinking her tea?”
Looking at the images is still too much for Martinez. “I want to cry,” the mother said. “It makes me sad because I never wanted Leah — I would never wish anyone to experience that with their kids. It’s really hard. It makes me mad. It makes me really upset.”
7News reached out to Ospina for the story, but her husband, Diego Ospina, said she was too busy at the moment. However, he did say that he and Ospina treat the kids as if they were their own. “And all those kids, that she takes care of, those are our kids too,” he said.
When asked about the incident with Leah Martinez, Diego did not give much information. “You should talk to a lawyer,” he said.
However, Martinez made it clear that she has every intention of taking legal action.
She says she’s taking Ospina to court to keep other kids safe. “And she asks me later, down the line, ‘Why didn’t you do anything for me. Why didn’t you fight for me?’ I’m her mom. That’s what I’m supposed to do,” she said.
Martinez’s attorney said they will be filing a lawsuit, Friday. A representative for the insurance company handling the case declined to comment.
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