Mass. SJC Upholds $20 Million Andover Pool Slide Death Ruling Against Toys R Us
BOSTON (AP) — The highest court in Massachusetts has upheld an $18 million punitive damages award to the family of a Colorado woman who died after hitting her head on a concrete pool deck when an inflatable slide partially collapsed.
A jury awarded Robin Aleo's family a total of $20.6 million, finding that the slide sold by Toys R Us did not comply with federal safety standards.
The New Jersey-based chain appealed the $18 million in punitive damages, arguing that the regulation cited by Aleo's family does not apply to inflatable slides, only to rigid pool slides.
The Louisville, Colo., woman was visiting relatives in Andover at the time.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday there was enough evidence to support the jury's findings and said the $18 million award did not exceed constitutional limits.
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