2-week-old baby allegedly suffers second-degree burns at doctor's office

Mila Martinez's mother claims she suffered second-degree burns at her doctor's office. (Change.org)

The mother of a newborn baby girl who allegedly suffered second-degree burns on her foot while at her pediatrician’s office has started a petition to ban the use of gel packs that caused the girl’s injury. Mila Martinez, who was 11 days old at the time of her injury, has since recovered, but her mother worries about long-term damage, KXAN reported.

In June, Dana Martinez brought daughter Mila for her two-week screening at Children’s Medical Center in Marble Falls, Texas, KXAN reported. Martinez claims a medical assistant heated a plastic penguin-shaped gel pack in a microwave for 20 seconds to help obtain a blood sampling from Mila’s foot. Martinez told the news station that as soon as the pack was placed on Mila’s foot, the baby started crying.

It was only after the assistant had pricked the baby’s foot for blood that she realized something was wrong, Martinez said.

“The doctor came in and said there’s something wrong with her foot, I need to look at it,” Martinez told KXAN. “That’s when I became very alarmed and said ‘What’s wrong with it?’ She removed the gauze and that’s when I discovered she was burned.”

Martinez filed a claim with the Texas Medical Board but was disappointed after it ruled the medical center did not violate the standard of care and no investigation will take place, KXAN reported. She’s now petitioning the American Pediatric Association to “Stop the use of plastic gel packs being used in pediatricians’ offices.” Her efforts have gained 997 supporters.

“Even though it happened to my baby and hasn’t happened to others, it shouldn’t have happened at all,” she told KXAN.