BEAVERCREEK, Oregon (13 June 2008) — The parents of an 8-year-old girl are suing Oceanic after a broken diving mask sliced off part of her nose and left her with multiple facial lacerations. Lindsey Fox was injured on July 5, 2006 while swimming in a relative's pool in Spokane, Washington with a mask manufactured by American Underwater Products, a company based in San Leandro, California that sells products as Oceanic Worldwide. The lawsuit filed May 30 in Multnomah County Circuit Court claims the Oceanic mask was defective and seeks $28,414 to cover medical expenses, including reconstructive surgery, and $750,000 for pain and suffering. Oceanic's attorney, Matthew Monroe, says the mask was not defective but was being used improperly. He also said only a small part of the girl's nose was cut off in the accident and that it was successfully reattached by a plastic surgeon. "When she grows up, the scar from the surgery likely will disappear," Monroe said. According to Fox's attorney, James G. Breathouwer, the glass in the mask was improperly tempered. Breathouwer said that Lindsey's cousin came down a slide and her foot struck his client's mask shattering its tempered glass. | | Based in California, Oceanic makes diving masks and other equipment aimed primarily at scuba divers. But one piece of the glass did not shatter; instead it acted like a knife, severing the girl's nose. "Luckily, the family members had the presence of mind to retrieve the nose, which they found floating in the pool," Breathouwer says. "A very skillful surgeon was able to reattach it." |
