Girl doused with boiling hot water recovering

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - An 11-year-old New York City girl who suffered bad burns after three friends allegedly poured a pot of boiling water on her during a sleepover is recovering well.

Jamoneisha Merritt and her mother appeared on Good Day New York on Wednesday.  Merritt spent 11 days in Harlem Hospital after the incident that left the 7th-grader with 85 percent of her face burned.

When asked about waking to the water being poured on her Jamoneisha said, "I was just screaming and yelling."

Her mother, Ebony Merritt said it’s too early to know if Jamoneisha will need a skin graft but she's had a visiting nurse come and dress her wounds since she has been released from the hospital.

Ebony Merritt says the mother of one of the three girls involved put ice on Jamoneisha and then put her in the shower thinking it might help.  She says more than an hour passed before they sought medical help.

Jamoneisha was sleeping over a friend’s house on Aug. 7 when her friend reportedly doused her with boiling water in a “prank” that resembled the “Hot Water Challenge,” a YouTube trend in which kids pour boiling water on unsuspecting people.

The family's lawyer says that YouTube plays some responsibility for the incident.

"YouTube has a responsibility to its millions of young, impressionable viewers to filter this content," Paul Prestia says.

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On August 24, the family will hold an anti-bullying and stop the violence cookout for Jamoneisha, which will include a fashion show that Jamoneisha will walk in.