Abigail Taylor, the six-year-old girl who was seriously injured last year
when here intestines were partially sucked out by a swimming pool drain
in Minnesota, has died.
The catastrophic accident took place on June 29 while Abigail was sitting
in a wading pool at the Minneapolis Golf Club. Abigail had to undergo
liver, small bowel, and pancreas transplants following the incident.
Abigail’s parents have fought for tougher laws that would prevent
similar accidents from happening. In December, Congress approved The Virginia
Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, which prohibits the manufacture,
distribution, or sale of drain covers that fail to meet anti-entrapment
safety laws.
The bill is named after former Secretary of State James Baker’s
granddaughter, who drowned in 2002 when she became trapped in a drain
and couldn’t be pulled out because the suction was too strong.
Last November, Abigail’s parents filed a personal injury lawsuit
against the Minneapolis Golf Club and Sta-Rite, the company that made
the pool’s pump and drain. The couple is accusing the manufacturer
of knowing that its products could cause evisceration but did not do anything
to remove this danger.
In 2005, a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report stated that
since 1990, at least 130 people have gotten stuck in the suctions of pool
and spa drains, resulting in numerous fatalities and many more injury
cases. Other reports indicate that from 1985 to 2004 at least 33 children
14 years of age and under have died because of spa/pool entrapment, with
almost 100 other kids sustaining serious injuries.
A person can become entrapped in a pool or spa drain when his or her hair,
swimsuit, or another body part gets caught. Sometimes, the suction can
be so strong that it becomes impossible to pull the trapped person out
of the water.
Had she lived through adulthood, Abigail ‘s family says that her
medical and special living costs would have cost about $30 million.
Our consumer products safety law firm represents clients in serious injury
cases that were caused by a defective or dangerous product. Our products
liability lawyers work with clients nationwide, and we handle defective
products cases involving serious personal injury and wrongful deaths.
Girl Whose Intestines Were Partially Sucked Out by Swimming Pool Drain
Dies, AP, March 21, 2008
Family of Girl Maimed by Pool Drain Sues, ABC News, November 16, 2007
Baker family motivated by the death of 7-year-old Virginia Graeme Baker,
USA SafeKids.org, May 2, 2006
Related Web Resources:
Guidelines for Entrapment Hazards: Making Pools and Spas Safer, US Consumer
Product Safety Commission, March 2005 (PDF)
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (PDF)
Sta-RIte
Contact Gilbert & Ollanik, PC today.