This Infant Died In A Tragic Accident, But Mom Is Suing Over Her Own Bad Decision

Nathania Terry, the mother of a child who was crushed in a horrible accident on a luggage conveyor belt at an airport in Alicante, Spain in 2013 is suing the maker of the luggage handling system. This is a tragic accident and if anything can be done from preventing something like this from happening again, it should. I just don’t know that I can get behind suing a company for an accident that happened because of a bad parental decision.

From Courthousenews.com:

“Upon arrival in Alicante, Spain, Ms. Terry ushered her children toward the baggage claim,” the complaint states. “Vashti was sitting in her car seat. Ms. Terry placed Vashti’s car seat on a non-moving, or stationary, belt while she reached to retrieve Vashti’s stroller from the end of the belt. The belt suddenly and without warning turned on, throwing Vashti into a crevice where two different conveyor belts abutted.

“Ms. Terry frantically tried to rescue Vashti, but her efforts were unsuccessful. Five-month old Vashti was crushed to death on Sept. 18, 2013.”

Terry’s daughter, Vashti, died in a horrific way. I can’t even begin to imagine experiencing something like this, and my heart truly goes out to this mom. But the tragic turn of events spawned from one initial decision — to place her child on a luggage conveyor belt. Those move. That is something that everyone knows. It was a bad decision on her part, however awful that sounds.

Terry claims the belt operates by sensors and that placing her child on the belt activated those sensors and caused the belt to move. She also claims there was no warning about the sensors. I always thought those belts were manually operated, too. Still, I understand that those belts move eventually and would never place a child on one.

This would be like seeing an escalator that wasn’t in motion and setting your kid’s stroller on it for a second. We all know that these things move, right? Maybe the lawsuit will force the manufacturer to put out clearer warnings about the belt. I’ve never seen a luggage conveyor belt that didn’t have a warning about touching it or sitting on it. Spanish authorities say the luggage belt complied with safety standards. I find it hard to believe that this mom didn’t understand that the belt was capable of moving at any given time.

This is just a case of a horrific accident that happened because of an unfortunate decision. Things like conveyor belts, escalators, elevators, and moving walkways are dangerous. Accidents can happen. I’m not sure how many signs need to be present to tell adults all something they already know.

(photo: hxdbzxy/ Shutterstock)