Parents of Disabled Teen Sue Maryland Swim Club for $40M

July 27, 2009

The parents of a teenager who was left brain damaged after an apparent near-drowning is suing the Maryland swim club where the incident happened.

William and Mary Becker on Thursday filed a $40 million lawsuit in Baltimore County Circuit Court against the Woodcroft Swim Club and D.R.D. Pool Management Inc., which runs the club. The Beckers accuse both entities of failing to respond quickly to their son and properly resuscitating him after an apparent near-drowning.

The incident occurred in 2006, when their son James was 15. Today, his family says he uses a wheelchair and is barely able to speak.

The family's attorney says the boy's brain injury was caused by a heart attack he had in the pool, not by a near-drowning. William Carrier says James was pulled from the water less than a minute after he was seen struggling and given CPR.