A family has criticised a nursery in North Carolina after their four-year-old son was bitten by a venomous snake, with staff allegedly failing to summon an ambulance. The child was playing in a sand pit at New Beginnings Child Enrichment Centre when he was bitten by a copperhead snake.
Photographs shared by the family show the boy's hand severely swollen. Staff are said to have initially claimed the injury was a reaction to a splinter, despite the child showing signs of distress from the venom.
According to the boy's aunt, Brook Cooper, the nursery director revealed the true nature of the injury when the family arrived to collect the child. She said she questioned why staff had not called emergency services and whether other parents had been informed.
Local emergency services confirmed they had not been called to the scene. A nursery worker killed the snake at the scene. The family then took the boy to hospital, where he received treatment; his current condition is not known.
Copperhead snakes are common across parts of the United States, and their bites can cause severe swelling, nausea and bleeding. Emergency teams in North Carolina are trained to respond to snake bites, though they rarely carry anti-venom.
