THE mother of a toddler is suing her former nanny for negligence more than a year after her baby daughter became brain damaged and blind in one eye.
The 32-year-old mother is alleging that the nanny had shaken her daughter so vigorously in April last year that the then six-month-old child ended up seriously injured.
Although no total amount of damages was stated in the court papers, the suit is filed in the Subordinate Courts which handles civil claims of up to $250,000.
The mother is seeking compensation for the baby's medical and special education expenses as well as future nursing care.
The child, now aged two, was left in Madam Loo Yoke Oi's care while both parents went to work that day.
According to court papers, the mother left the child in Madam Loo's flat in Corporation Road before heading off to work. The child's mother works as a senior sales assistant while her 38-year-old father is a technician.
The 40-year-old nanny was also taking care of the child's older brother at that time. The boy, now aged eight, was not hurt.
The woman had been helping to look after the children for about five months before the alleged incident happened.
According to a medical report from the National University Hospital, Madam Loo told the medical team that day that she had handled the child roughly when the child was crying during her bath.
According to court documents, she allegedly shook the infant so hard that she suffered pre-retinal haemorrhages in both eyes, became blind in the right eye and lost 60 per cent of her sight in the left eye. The baby also suffered bleeding in the brain and had problems swallowing.
She has also been diagnosed as brain damaged and her development is slower than most kids her age. While most children her age can walk and talk, she is still stumbling around and can only babble.
The child's mother faults Madam Loo for 'using extreme force' by shaking the child vigorously; failing to take precautions to ensure the baby's safety; and failing to exercise her responsibilities as a caregiver of a young child.
The suit comes on the back of several failed discussions over the past year to have the matter settled out of court.
When The Straits Times approached the former nanny at her home earlier this week, Madam Loo disputed the mother's claim.
The housewife and mother of two sons said she was considering seeking legal representation and has yet to file a defence.
She added that she was no longer working as a nanny.
