The brother of a six-year-old girl who died following a badminton accident asked his family a heartbreaking question after the incident. Silas Morgan wondered "how we could ever be happy again" following the death of his sister, according to a blog post written by their father.
Freak accident during family holiday
Lucy Morgan, from New Jersey, sustained a catastrophic brain injury during an accident while on a family holiday in Limerick, Maine, on June 1, 2024. The young girl had been playing badminton with her 10-year-old brother when the racket suddenly snapped, driving jagged aluminium through her skull and causing brain trauma that left her "unconscious" and "unresponsive".
She was airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where surgeons carried out emergency surgery to remove part of her skull and alleviate brain swelling, though she suffered cardiac arrest during the operation. Medical staff managed to resuscitate her, but warned the family that her chances of survival were desperately slim. In the early hours of June 5, 2024, she succumbed to her injuries.
Lawsuit against manufacturer
Her parents, Bethany and Jesse Morgan, lodged a lawsuit on Monday against Franklin Sports, the Massachusetts-based firm responsible for manufacturing the racket, according to WCVB. Jesse said the surviving siblings, Silas, now 12, Shilow, 10, and Atticus, four, are struggling to comprehend what happened, are "blaming themselves and taking it hard".
The lawsuit claims that the racket, part of a badminton set supplied by the holiday cottage the family were renting, was faulty and lacked sufficient adhesive to secure the metal stem. It also accuses Franklin Sports of failing to alert consumers to the hazards posed by the product.
Family seeks justice
The family's solicitor, Charles P. Hehmeyer of Berman and Simmons in Maine, characterised Lucy's death as "a parent's worst nightmare". He said: "We are committed to obtaining justice for Lucy by holding Franklin Sports accountable. We want to ensure these rackets are manufactured in a way where this type of tragedy never occurs again."
Mr Hehmeyer said that a child in New York had previously lost an eye due to a Franklin badminton racket, but accused the company of choosing "not to correct this with something as simple as a pin in the handle, which would cost pennies". The lawsuit is pursuing damages encompassing funeral costs, financial loss, emotional distress, loss of comfort, society and companionship, and other available damages.
