Abigail Taylor

Abigail Rose Taylor (May 24, 2001 - March 20, 2008) [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=25429273] was a young girl from Edina, Minnesota whose accidental injury and eventual death led to new US federal legislation to improve the safety of swimming pools.

Description of the incident

On June 29, 2007, Taylor's parents took her to the Minneapolis Golf Club in St. Louis Park. She was paddling unsupervised when she sat on the open drain of a wading pool and her buttocks were sucked into the aperture. The suction tore out a large section of her intestinal tract through her rectum.

The incident was similar to a 1993 incident in North Carolina involving Valerie Lakey, who was 5 years old at the time. Coincidentally, the pool drains in question in both the Lakey and Taylor cases were manufactured by Sta-Rite, a division of Minnestota-based Pentair. [ [http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/160648/ Family Reaches Settlement that Guarantees $25 Million Payment] ]

Aftermath

The incident has been described by some media reports as a "freak" accident. [ [http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13626279/detail.html Wading Pool Drain Sucks Out Girl's Organ] ] However, the risk of this sort of accident has been published before in the United States [ [http://www.poolspanews.com/2003/102/102entrapment.html Industry article on the danger] ] and cases in other countries have also been documented. [ [http://adc.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/88/7/584 Report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health] ] Furthermore, Taylor's parents alleged that the golf club "was aware of the serious risk to swimmers in the kiddie pool [...] but did not take action to eliminate that risk". They also alleged that the manufacturer of the drain outlet was aware of the potential risk, but failed to issue adequate warnings. The family filed suit against both parties. [ [http://static.cbslocal.com/station/wcco/news/local/07_1115_AbigailTaylorlawsuit_againstSta-riteIndustries_MinneapolisGolfClub.pdf Text of the lawsuit by Abigail's parents] ]

Between 1980 and 1996 in the United States, 15 other similar accidents involving evisceration and disembowelment caused by pool suction units had occurred. [ [http://www.who.int/entity/water_sanitation_health/bathing/recreaII-ch2.pdf WHO report on pool safety] ] However, Taylor's accident increased public awareness of pool safety and led to legislative change. In December 2007, President George W. Bush signed federal legislation that provides incentives for states to adopt comprehensive pool safety laws. Similar laws had been adopted in at least two states of Australia 20 years earlier. [ [http://www.docep.wa.gov.au/ConsumerProtection/Content/Real_Estate/Safety_in_the_home/Skimmer_boxes_for_swimming_poo.html Dept. of consumer protection information sheet] ] [ [http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/productsafety/badgoods/skimmer.html OCBA information page] ]

Injury and subsequent death

Taylor lost 21 feet (6.4 m) of her small intestine in the accident, leaving her with short bowel syndrome. Following the accident, Taylor was hospitalized, and received a rare triple organ transplant to replace her small intestine, liver, and pancreas, all of which were damaged in the accident. She was unable to eat or drink, and required total parenteral nutrition. Nine months after the accident, she died two months short of her seventh birthday, due to complications resulting from her injuries.

References

External links

* [http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13626279/detail.html Wading Pool Drain Sucks Out Girl's Organ]
* [http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=490199 Abigail Taylor receives triple-transplant at Omaha Hospital]
* [http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=490232 Abigail Taylor in "serious but stable condition" following triple-transplant]
* [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/21/america/Pool-Injury.php Girl whose injury at Minn. swimming pool led to legislation dies, 9 months after accident]
* [http://www.crookstontimes.com/articles/2008/03/21/news/3news5.txt Abigail Taylor dies]
* [http://wcco.com/local/abigail.taylor.drain.2.569324.html Girl Sick, Lawsuit Filed In Pool Drain Accident]
* [http://wcco.com/topstories/Abigail.Taylor.Minnesota.2.368850.html Minn. Pool Drain Injury Prompts Safety Legislation]
* [http://wcco.com/topstories/Abigail.Taylor.Edina.2.368931.html Senate Commerce Committee OKs Pool Safety Bill]