PITTSBURGH – The mother of a young child allegedly killed as a result of being entangled in a mesh hammock has settled a lawsuit with its manufacturers and major retailer Walmart for wrongful death-related damages.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon issued an order on the suit on March 13, stating:
“The court has been advised by counsel for the parties that the above-captioned action has been settled and that the only matters remaining are the execution of the settlement document and the compliance of the terms set out in the settlement agreement. It appears that there is no further action required by the Court at this time,” Bissoon said.
“It is, accordingly, hereby ordered that the clerk mark the above-captioned case closed; that nothing contained in this order shall be considered a dismissal or disposition of this action, and that should further proceedings therein become necessary or desirable, either party may initiate the same in the identical manner as if this order had not been entered. Further, the Court expressly retains jurisdiction in this matter to consider any issue arising during the period when settlement is being finalized, including, but not limited to, enforcing settlement.”
Cassidy Esslinger (as Administrator of the Estate of Sonya Ann Esslinger) of Warren initially filed suit in the Warren County Court of Common Pleas on Dec. 5, 2018 versus DanDee International, Limited in Jersey City, N.J., MTY International, LTD of Guongzhou, China and Walmart, Inc. (also known as “Walmart Stores, Inc.) of Bentonville, Ark.
The case was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Jan. 17, 2019.
The suit stated that prior to Dec. 7, 2016, the DanDee and MTY defendants manufactured mesh hammocks, intended to cluster children’s toys and stuffed animals, which were then sold in the stores of Walmart. In that same time period, Cassidy purchased the product for use by her daughter, Sonya Ann.
“On Dec. 7, 2016, decedent, Sonya Ann Esslinger, was residing with her mother, Cassidy Esslinger, in Warren, PA. The mesh hammock was hanging in decedent’s bedroom. Decedent was in her bedroom when she became entangled in the mesh hammock, and it wrapped around her neck. The mesh hammock caused catastrophic and fatal injuries to decedent,” according to the lawsuit.
“Decedent, was taken by ambulance to Warren General Hospital at or about 7:30 a.m., and was noted by emergency medical personnel to be in cardiac arrest, bradycardic, asystole and bagged 100 percent non-breather.
“At or about 10:30 a.m., decedent was transported from Warren General Hospital by STAT Medi-Vac to Children’s’ Hospital of Pittsburgh. On Dec. 7, 2016 through Dec. 9, 2016, decedent, Sonya Ann Esslinger was intubated and placed on a ventilator.
“On Dec. 9, 2016 Decedent sustained and suffered monomorphic ventricular tachycardia. Defibrillation was performed three times on decedent and she received CPR. Despite these efforts to resuscitate decedent, she died at 1:05 p.m. on Dec. 9, 2016.”
The decedent had sustained severe and traumatic injuries, including cardiac arrest, bradycardic, asphyxiation, monomorphic ventricular tachycardia and conscious pain and suffering prior to death, the suit said.
“For more than 20 years, mini-hammocks and baby-hammocks that do not have spreader bars have been known to cause strangulation death in children. Between 1984 and 1995, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received reports of 12 children between the ages of five (5) and seventeen (17) years old who became entangled and died when using net mini-hammocks without spreader bars,” the lawsuit said.
“According to the CPSC, the mini-hammock can suddenly become twisted around a child’s neck and strangle the child. This can happen when children are attempting to climb into or out of, or are playing on, or swinging on mini-hammocks like swings,” per the lawsuit.
Prior recalls of similar products took place in 1996 and 2000, the suit stated.
On April 4, 2019, DanDee answered the lawsuit and asserted no less than 48 affirmative defenses, including failure to state a cause of action upon which relief can be granted, that the claims are barred for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, that the claims are barred for lack of personal jurisdiction and the product was in full compliance with all applicable federal statutes and regulations.
The same day, Walmart also answered the lawsuit and asserted similar defenses.
Prior to settlement and for counts of strict liability, strict liability – failure to warn, negligence, breach of warranty, violation of statutes, codes, laws, ordinances, rules and regulations, wrongful death and loss of services, the plaintiff is seeking damages for an amount in excess of local arbitration limits together with pre-judgment interest, costs of suit and post-judgment interest.
The plaintiff was represented by Brett A. Zekowski and Jessica L. Richman of Parker Waichman in Port Washington, N.Y., plus Valeen D. Hykes of Michael J. O’Connor & Associates, in Frackville.
The defendants were represented by Bettina J. Strauss and James P. Emanuel Jr. of Bryan Cave in St. Louis, Mo., Jamie L. Lenzi of Cipriani & Werner in Pittsburgh, plus Rebecca Sember Izsak of Thomas Thomas & Hafer, also in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case 1:19-cv-00015
Warren County Court of Common Pleas case 560-2018
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com