5-year-old suffers second-degree burns during school science experiment, family says

PITTSBURGH — A little girl is covered in second-degree burns and her family said she received them at King PreK-8 school on Pittsburgh's North Side.

Family members said it was a result of a science experiment involving boiling water.

Pittsburgh Public Schools released the following statement regarding the incident: “The incident is currently under investigation. As it is a personnel matter, we are unable to provide further comment.”

Personal injury and civil rights attorney Todd Hollis is representing the family. He said when he met the little girl, she was so brave.

“She’s very articulate ... has informed us that through some kind of project that occurred at the school, she sustained a second and/or third-degree burns," said attorney Todd J. Hollis.

Hollis said he has not yet spoken with anyone from Pittsburgh Public Schools, but he expects he will be in touch with the district’s representatives soon. He also said the family found out about the child’s burns through a phone call from someone at the school saying the girl had sustained “minor burns" -- but they were actually a lot worse.

The girl received treatment for the burns, but her family said she will be heading back to the hospital in a few days to see if those burns will be upgraded to third-degree burns.