WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES: Mum Amie McCarthy claimed her 15-month-old toddler Brodie Davis was injured after her washing machine exploded leaving him with cuts to his neck and arms
A mum has claimed her toddler nearly died when their washing machine “exploded,” leaving him dripping in blood with a chunk of his finger “hanging off.”
Amie McCarthy nearly collapsed when she turned her head to find her 15-month-old toddler covered in blood last Wednesday (October 9). The 29-year-old says she had just filled her washing machine with a half load of dirty clothes when she heard a loud bang from the other room.
The mum-of-five, who lives in Liverpool, claims she rushed to her utility room to discover her washing machine’s glass door had ‘exploded’ – sending pieces of glass flying across the room. Amie was horrified to find her one-year-old son Brodie Davis had been cut multiple times by the glass – suffering injuries to his eye, neck, arms, hands and feet.
Shocking photographs show the baby covered in blood moments after allegedly being hit with shards of glass. The stay-at-home mum admits she nearly passed out herself when she spotted Brodie’s left index finger was ‘hanging on by a thread’ after the accident.
Amie rushed her injured tot to Alder Hey Hospital where he underwent an operation to reattach the tip of his finger – which may require a skin graft in the future. She claims her washing machine was not overloaded or overheated – and is calling on the manufacturers to investigate the machine to prevent further incidents.
Amie said: “I started clearing up as I normally do, put a wash on, I walked into the kitchen and Brodie followed me into the kitchen. The washing machine is in like a mini conservatory separate to the kitchen. I was only a few feet away but around the corner. He never normally watches the washing machine.
“The machine must’ve only gone round about two or three times when I heard the glass shatter dead loud. It sounded like it was a window. I turned around, Brodie was to my left, and he was covered in blood. It was dripping all over him. He was screaming and crying.
“I thought there was a bit of glass stuck in his finger, but it was actually skin. And that’s when I nearly fainted. As I picked him up, that’s when I saw the glass all over the floor. The whole door was completely smashed.”
Brodie suffered injuries to his eye, neck, arms, hands and feet – as well as a significant cut to his left index finger that required emergency surgery to reattach the punctured skin. Amie said: “The skin had started dying by then so they were trying to save the skin. They reattached the finger. And we still don’t know if he might need another operation for a skin graft.
“The tip of his finger was hanging on by a thread. They don’t know if the skin will carry on dying and he would need a skin graft where they would take skin from his thigh. The consultant told us it could’ve been a lot worse because of the size of the glass pieces. Imagine if that had gone into his jugular.
“The tip of his finger will be numb for the rest of his life now.” Amie said her family submitted a complaint after the incident – and is calling for an investigation into the ‘faulty’ machine.
Amie said: “The machine is only 16 months old – we’ve had no issues in the past. My mothering instinct kicked in and I thought I do not want this to happen to anyone else. My nan bought the machine for me so she let [the company] know the situation. They know what happened and I haven’t had an apology or anything.
“The load didn’t have anything metal in it, I didn’t overload it, I didn’t touch it and the baby didn’t touch it, it wasn’t too hot because it was a quick wash so there must’ve been something wrong with the glass. I think it could be a fault with that washing machine. [The company] need to look into it, it can’t be safe. You never think your washing machine is going to do that.
“I’ve got a five-month-old as well and if the glass had gone away near here, she would’ve had no chance. They were massive shards of glass. I thought a washing machine would have safety glass but these were massive bits of glass. Brodie easily could’ve died that day.
“I’ve told everyone with kids don’t let go near the washing machine.”
