A federal jury in St. Louis has handed down a $25 million verdict against Bestway USA Inc., ruling that the company’s defectively designed above-ground pool played a major role in the tragic drowning of a 2-year-old girl.
The verdict, reached on Friday, found that Bestway’s 51-inch-tall pool featured a dangerous design flaw that allowed toddlers to climb over its walls using a nylon strap encircling the structure. The jury further determined that the company failed to warn consumers of this hazard, ultimately placing 65% of the liability on Bestway for the wrongful death of Ellieanna Justice, who drowned on August 3, 2019, in Warren County, Missouri.
A Climbable Design with Deadly Consequences
Attorney Jake Plattenberger of TorHoerman Law, representing Ellieanna’s parents, Annaleah and Kyle Justice, emphasized how quickly a small child could scale the pool’s walls. “A toddler can climb this kind of pool in seconds,” he said. “The parents have endured this legal battle for longer than their child was alive. Their only goal was to push for a design change to prevent future tragedies.”
