A Massachusetts jury has awarded more than $20 million to a man whose wife died from injuries she sustained on an inflatable pool slide.
In the verdict returned Oct. 13, jurors in Salem Superior Court found that Toys “R” Us was responsible for importing and selling the Banzai Falls slide, which reportedly did not meet federal safety standards.
Robin Aleo, 29, was fatally injured during a pool party in July 2006 in Andover, Mass., when she slid down headfirst and struck her head on a pool deck after the product suddenly deflated.
The $20.6 million verdict included $18 million in punitive damages, as well as $2.5 million in anticipated lost income from the victim’s advertising and marketing career. It is one of the largest jury verdicts in the state this year.
The slide was manufactured in China and was purchased by the Aleos a month earlier from Toys “R” Us through Amazon.com. Amazon and manufacturer SLB Toys USA also were named in the wrongful death suit, but settled with plaintiff Michael Aleo for an undisclosed sum after the trial began.
