Wrongful Death Alleged Against Garage Door Manufacturer

The family of a 6-year-old boy who was killed when a garage door closed on him as filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of the automatic door, as well as against the door’s installer and the owners of the home where the boy was killed. According to newspaper articles, the boy was found by his 9-year-old brother pinned under the door, which authorities say caused the boy to die of “compressional asphyxia.”

The lawsuit names Mid-America Door Co. and Sears, Roebuck & Co. alleging that the door’s failures were caused by a defect in the product. The lawsuit alleges that the door was not equipped with a motion sensor, which has been required by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission since 1992.

The family is devastated:

“I’m haunted by this every day, and if I would have known he was under the garage [door], then there’s no way that I wouldn’t have run to him,” his mother said at a news conference. “I keep thinking that he was screaming and calling someone and no one was there to help him.”

The injury and accident attorneys at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals and families throughout Southern California who have been injured in accidents, including injuries caused by defective products, car accidents, medical malpractice, motorcycle accidents and all other personal injury matters.