A federal jury has awarded an Ohio family $787 million in damages in a wrongful death lawsuit after their toddler died in a bunk bed accident five years ago. Ja’syiah Boone was just 23 months old when he became trapped between the bed’s frame and a ladder rung. He was pinned so tightly his mother had to break the ladder to free him.
After Ja’syiah died in the freak accident, his family sought justice for their son. The family sued multiple businesses associated with the bunk beds and their distribution, the Columbus Dispatch reported. The damages are among the largest awarded in Ohio history.
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Ja’syiah was playing with his brothers when he became trapped.
On May 22, 2018, just a month shy of his second birthday, Ja’syiah and his brothers were playing on the bunk bed when he became trapped. His 4-year-old brother realized what happened and tried to free him, but he couldn't get his brother out, the Dispatch reported. He ran for his mother, who ultimately broke the ladder apart to free Ja’syiah, Dan Mordarski, the family's attorney, told the newspaper.
The accident should never have happened.
Ja’syiah died from "positional asphyxia due to chest compression between bunk bed and the bunk bed ladder," the Dispatch reported.
Mordarski told WBNS that after the boy's death, Ja’syiah’s family approached him, and they began their own investigation. He claimed what they found was alarming. The manufacturer, Moash Enterprise Company Limited out of Vietnam, which sells on e-commerce sites like Wayfair, allegedly told Mordarski that it knew the bed had safety concerns.
"It violated three major safety standards,” Mordarski told the news station. “There's no reason why that gap should've been in that ladder … No reason.”
The family sued multiple entities.
The family sued Wayfair, where his mother purchased the bed, and Angel Line and Longwood Forest Products, the companies responsible for importing the products from Vietnam, according to the Dispatch. They reportedly settled for undisclosed amounts.
The family then named Moash as a defendant. The company allegedly didn’t respond or appear in court.
Even though the family got the bed recalled, it remained available for purchase.
Mordarski claimed the bed was recalled on December 22, 2021, but was still available for purchase on Wayfair, Longwood, and Moash under a different product name, the Dispatch reported.
"That bed was recalled because it killed a little boy, and they just continued to sell it. That to me is just reprehensible,” Mordarski said.
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Despite a win in court, the family will never get their little boy back.
Mordarski said although the family is pleased with the verdict, they still have a hole in their hearts, WBNS reported.
"The mom told the jury today that she doesn't want his death to be in vain, and she told the jury she never ever wants another mom to have to go through what she had to go through,” Mordarski shared.
The attorney told the Dispatch that Ja’syiah’s family’s goal is to make regulatory changes so no other family feels this kind of pain.
"They're still struggling," he said. "Mom admits that there's a part of her that's gone."
