And thats how the head of the KEN doll went missing
Tampa, Florida (Oct 12, 2006 18:29 EST) Lawyers representing a Bay area child are in a St. Petersburg courthouse…..taking on corporate giant Wal-Mart, and a product supplier seeking millions in damages.
The case centers around swimming pool toys known as dive sticks, supplied to Wal-Mart in the 1990's by a Clearwater based Florida Pool.
When Marcus Zunner was just three, he was hospitalized with a severe accident from a divestick.
"He slid into the pool on the slide and he landed on it and it went into his rectum," said Kimberly Zunner, Marcus' mother.
"He suffered a rectal impalement of about an inch and a half. And he had open abdominal surgery, with a cholostomy," said Justin Johnson, Marcus' attorney.
WalMart and Florida Pool, are expected to argue the dive sticks were safe, but that the family misused them, by allowing the child to jump on the sticks in a shallow, inflatable kiddie pool.
The stick's are weighted to stand perpendicular to the bottom of the pool, and when they are three to seven feet underwater, kids often dive after them in order.
But in shallow water, they may stand just inches below the surface which was apparently what happened when Marcus jumped in.
In 1999, the Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered Florida Pool to recall 9,000,000 dive sticks.
The company responded in a news release.
Florida Pool, 1999 news release: "Dive sticks are fun and enjoyable when used properly but are not to be used in shallow water." That recall came after six known injuries were reported to the CPSC, and one year before Marcus' Zunner was hurt landing on a dive stick.
"It subsequently was banned as a hazardous product," said Justin Johnson, Marcus Zummer's attorney.
Those close to Marcus worry he will need a lifetime of medical care and multiple surgeries as a result of the dive stick accident at a young age.
Marcus Zunner is now nine, and according to his lawyer, is doing as well as can be expected.
His lawyer says Marcus will be here at points during the trial, but is not expected to testify.
The case centers around swimming pool toys known as dive sticks, supplied to Wal-Mart in the 1990's by a Clearwater based Florida Pool.
When Marcus Zunner was just three, he was hospitalized with a severe accident from a divestick.
"He slid into the pool on the slide and he landed on it and it went into his rectum," said Kimberly Zunner, Marcus' mother.
"He suffered a rectal impalement of about an inch and a half. And he had open abdominal surgery, with a cholostomy," said Justin Johnson, Marcus' attorney.
WalMart and Florida Pool, are expected to argue the dive sticks were safe, but that the family misused them, by allowing the child to jump on the sticks in a shallow, inflatable kiddie pool.
The stick's are weighted to stand perpendicular to the bottom of the pool, and when they are three to seven feet underwater, kids often dive after them in order.
But in shallow water, they may stand just inches below the surface which was apparently what happened when Marcus jumped in.
In 1999, the Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered Florida Pool to recall 9,000,000 dive sticks.
The company responded in a news release.
Florida Pool, 1999 news release: "Dive sticks are fun and enjoyable when used properly but are not to be used in shallow water." That recall came after six known injuries were reported to the CPSC, and one year before Marcus' Zunner was hurt landing on a dive stick.
"It subsequently was banned as a hazardous product," said Justin Johnson, Marcus Zummer's attorney.
Those close to Marcus worry he will need a lifetime of medical care and multiple surgeries as a result of the dive stick accident at a young age.
Marcus Zunner is now nine, and according to his lawyer, is doing as well as can be expected.
His lawyer says Marcus will be here at points during the trial, but is not expected to testify.
posted by Gavin Elster at 10:26 PM
6 Comments:
I'm soooooooo bad, but an inch and a half doesn't seem like that big of a deal, even in a tiny anus. I don't understand how it could do that much damage.
Jeebus!
Kramer: Have you ever *met* a proctologist? Well, they usually have a very good sense of humor. You meet a proctologist at a party, don't walk away. *Plant* yourself there, because you will hear the funniest stories you've ever heard. See, no one wants to admit to them that they *stuck* something up there. Never! It's always an accident. Every proctologist story ends in the same way: "It was a million to one shot, Doc. Million to one."
It was an inch and a half tear in his bowel, not an inch and a half impalement. The dive stick actually went in 4 inches of an eight inch stick. He required a colostomy for three months thereafter to allow his rescected bowel to heal. I don't see that as a laughing matter - not for an adult or a 3 year-old child.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Would it have been better if I said:
Its the parents who should be sued not wal-mart. The parents didnt bother to read or investigate how these things are used.
I agree its no laughing matter Child neglect is an awful thing.
What you describe (ANON) is a horrible thing to happen to a child. Your facts were not what was reported. Had I known that I would have actually bothered to write something instead of transcribing the news as it was reported.
This was not what was reported. I simply relayed the facts as they were reported. You sound hurt defensive and a little richer.
Good for you.
Your next beef is with Ruters.
Post a Comment
<< Home