Family of Lucy Morgan, 6-year-old-NJ girl killed in Limerick, Maine badminton ‘freak accident’ tragedy file wrongful death lawsuit against racket maker, Franklin Sports alleging the maker failed to warn users of the capacity of their rackets to falter, claiming ‘cheap’ manufacturing led to tragedy.
The family of a 6-year-old girl who was killed in a freak accident while playing badminton has filed a wrongful death lawsuit accusing the maker of the racket of causing the child’s death after it broke and impaled her in the head.
Lucy Morgan was playing badminton with her 10-year-old brother in Limerick, Maine during a family trip in June 2024 when the aluminum shaft of the racket came loose from his wooden handle, striking the girl in the head and piercing her skull.
Doctors were successful in reviving the young girl, but Lucy had lost all brain function and the full ability to breathe on her own. The six year old died from her injuries four days later the suit alleges.
‘Cheap manufacturing’ cited in wrongful death lawsuit
Reports WGME: ‘The lawsuit alleges that as Lucy’s brother swung the racket to hit the badminton birdie, the racket’s head and metal stem separated from the handle and flew through the air. The exposed metal stem then hit Lucy in the temple and pierced her skull.’
Going on two years after the tragedy, the girl’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against Franklin Sports, the Massachusetts-based company that made the racket, WCVB reported.
The racket, which came with a badminton set provided by the Limerick rental cottage where the family was staying, was defective and did not have adequate adhesive connecting the metal stem to prevent the piece from becoming a projectile, according to the lawsuit.
The suit accuses Franklin Sports of failing to warn consumers about the dangers of the product, specifically citing ‘the risk of the metal stem separating from the racket during ordinary use’.
Lawsuit claims racket maker implicated in other avoidable accidents
Lucy Morgan’s death death was ‘a parent’s worst nightmare,’ stated the family’s attorney, Charles P. Hehmeyer of Berman & Simmons in Maine.
‘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,’ he told WCVB.
According to the family attorney, the tragedy isn’t the first time the racket maker has been implicated in serious physical injury and or death.
Hehmeyer said a child in New York previously lost an eye to a Franklin badminton racket, only for the company to claim that the company ‘chose not to correct this with something as simple as a pin in the handle, which would cost pennies.’
The lawsuit seeks damages including funeral expenses, pecuniary loss, emotional distress, loss of comfort, society and companionship, and other available damages.
Franklin Sports to date has declined media’s overture for comment on the lawsuit.
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