$10M Policy Limit in Swing Set Failure Case
Children playing on a swing set should be having a great time, laughing, seeing who can go the highest, and just enjoying the exhilaration of “flying” through the air. One 9-year old young girl was doing just that when the support beam above her failed, cracking in half and collapsing on her head. The broken beam and cross bar slamming into her head caused a TBI, resulting in a permanent seizure disorder which eventually halted her mental development. She also had extensive damage to her mouth, breaking and losing several teeth. When tested at age 16, she was found to have a severe intellectual disability. She would never drive a car, hold down a job, or get married. By the time the case came to trial, she was 21 years old, living with her grandparents and spending her days playing with Legos.
Cassandra Thorson was retained by this young girl’s family to help them recover damages from the swing set manufacturer. The manufacturer blamed it on the family, stating that they assembled the swing set incorrectly. The defense also tried to claim that her mental condition was due to her childhood diagnosis of ADHD and was therefore pre-existing. It was crucial that the plaintiff’s team be able to show the failure to prove liability, so Ms. Thorson came to Focus Graphics to help create an animation to show how the swing set failed. Working directly with her experts to re-create the moment of failure, Focus Graphics was able to show exactly how and why the failure occurred, and it had nothing to do with the assembly of the swing set.
Ms. Thorson showed part of the animation during her opening, showing only the beginning where her client was joyfully swinging, only to have the beam break and collapse on her head. She later showed the animation in its entirety to give more detail about how the failure occurred and why it was the fault of the manufacturer. Three weeks into trial, after hearing her client testify, the insurance adjustor contacted Ms. Thorson and offered the full policy limit of $10 million.
“Describing the failure mechanism of the swing set was critical to proving liability in this case but we did not have the actual swing set and the pictures showed a rusty old swing set. When Focus Graphics listened to the description of the failure mechanism and worked with our biomechanics and wood experts to re-create the moment of failure, it was magic! Suddenly, we were able to show others how this swing set failed and it was obvious that such a failure should not occur.”
~Cassandra Thorson, Esq., San Diego, CA | Thorson Law Group
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