Family of 6-year-old girl who died in badminton accident files wrongful death lawsuit

LIMERICK, Maine (WMTW) – A New Jersey family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit after their 6-year-old daughter died in a freak badminton accident.

The lawsuit alleges the badminton racket was defective.

Lucy Morgan died while her family was vacationing in Maine two years ago.

“I don’t think anyone can ever recover from the loss of a child,” Travis Brennan, the attorney for the Morgan family, said.

Brennan knows nothing can bring Lucy back.

“This was a terrible tragedy that has left a hole in this family for the rest of their lives,” Brennan said.

The wrongful death suit claims that when Lucy swung her badminton racket, the head and metal neck dislodged from the handle, flying into the air and then hitting her on the temple, piercing her skull and entering her brain.

Lucy was taken by helicopter to Maine Medical Center where she died days later.

“We believe that there are ways that these rackets can be designed so that this type of failure in the racket never happens,” Brennan said.

The racket, provided at the family’s rental property in Limerick, was defective and lacked the proper adhesive, according to Brennan.

Brennan also said the racket lacked a secondary restraint to keep it from coming apart.

The impact on the family is also part of the suit as attorneys seek damages for emotional distress to Lucy’s parents and her three siblings, who were all there that day.

Brennan said the suit is about “holding Franklin Sports accountable for what happened to Lucy, but also working to ensure that this type of tragedy never happens to another family.”

Franklin Sports did not respond to a request for comment.