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NJ Family Sues Nurse Accused Of Burning Baby In Hot Bath

EDISON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The family of a baby girl who was badly burned in a bathing incident is filing a lawsuit against the nurse they hold responsible.

An in-home nurse from a private company put 20-month-old Destiny Abdelmalak in a scalding hot bath in early June, the child's legal guardian and aunt, Mariam Khella, said.

"When I opened the door she was crying, her eyes were so red," said Khella, who was on her way back to her Jersey City home at the time of the incident.

NJ Family Sues Nurse Accused Of Burning Baby In Hot Bath

When she got home, the nurse apparently told Khella that the baby had a rash on her right leg.

Khella said she needed scissors to remove the child's clothing.

"I took it off and all her skin came from my hand," Khella said. "Where she said the rash was, there was absolutely no skin."

Attorney Steven Haddad said they are suing the nurse and the company she worked for -- Preferred Home Health Care, WCBS 880's Levon Putney reported.

"It's just something out of a nightmare storybook," Haddad said. "We hope nobody would ever think to do something like this to a baby. We hope that they take full responsibility."

The child suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower legs and was initially hospitalized in critical condition.

Destiny is still recovering and will need physical therapy at least until the end of the month.

"If anybody makes any movement, if anything happens she jumps, she's so scared," Kehlla said. "She is very, very scared of anything and everything."

Following the incident, the nurse -- 30-year-old Ellen Ejimkonye -- was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse.

"I want to make sure that she gets what she deserves, honestly, she should be put in hot water just like what she did," Khella said.

Haddad said the moral of the story is be careful who you allow your child with.

Preferred Home Health Care had no comment.

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