Laguna Boy to Get $4.95 Million for Injury in Home Spa

A 10-year-old boy partially paralyzed after being sucked to the bottom of a home spa will receive $4.95 million over the rest of his life under a settlement approved Friday in Orange County Superior Court.

“This gives Adam options for the future that he might not have had--to go to school, to have a career, to get the physical therapy and medical help he needs,” said Robyn Walters, the victim’s mother.

“We’re all very, very happy,” the mother said. “I’m glad it’s over. It’s been a long 4 1/2 years, and this (settlement) means that we can go on living our lives without lawyers and courtrooms.”

Adam Walters was sucked to the floor of the back yard spa at his family’s home in Fountain Valley one September afternoon in 1984.

Several minutes later, Adam’s mother discovered the immobilized boy face down under water. As the boy’s two sisters and brother watched in panic, his father tried to yank the boy free but could not overcome the spa’s powerful suction and had to turn off the device altogether.

Although there has been no sign of lost intellectual capacities, Adam did suffer serious damage to his motor skills, leaving him bound to a wheelchair with partial paralysis in his legs.

He also has speech problems, has lost some use of one arm and faces the increased risk of developing severe scoliosis--a curvature of the spine--that could require surgery.

His family sued the makers of the spa system and the owners and real estate agents of the home that they were renting. The Walters maintained that the spa itself was dangerously designed because it had only one filter outlet instead of the customary two and because the drain cover had been missing since they began renting the house.

Attorneys for the defendants denied in interviews Friday that they were to blame in the accident, even as Superior Court Judge Leonard Goldstein approved the final settlement plan.

Immediate Cash

Nonetheless, insurance companies for the homeowners, the rental agent and the real estate agency agreed to pay a total of $635,000 in an immediate cash outlay to cover already-incurred medical and legal expenses and to set up an annuity fund for Adam.

In all, Adam will receive a total of $4.95 million in regular monthly and 5-year payments over the remainder of his life, the family’s attorney said.

Adam Walters said in a brief telephone interview after the settlement: “It’s money for college and stuff. I’m very happy.”

The family now lives in Laguna Beach and has a spa.

Accidents of the type that injured Adam Walters have been a concern in the hot tub industry, although executives said last fall that they have solved the problem of excessive suction. Orange County statistics weren’t immediately available, but Los Angeles County records showed that 10 people, including six children under 10 years old, somehow drowned in hot tubs or spas in 1987.

Bought Drain Cover

Robyn Walters said she knew nothing of such spa accidents before Adam’s mishap. But she said she made sure after the accident to buy a $20 anti-suction drain cover that is designed to prevent accidents in older model spas.

The company that made the spa in which Adam was injured, called Blue Haven Pools, no longer has any assets or insurance and is not included in the financial settlement.

Although the absence of the spa-maker from the agreement makes the settlement smaller than it might have been otherwise, the family’s attorney, Jerrold A. Bloch, said he was very satisfied with the outcome.

“This means that the boy’s future should be secure, at least financially,” he said.

“I’m tickled to death. I’ve gotten to know the family, and they’re a very close family, just wonderful working with Adam.

“But it’s been a strain for them to get what they know he needs in medical attention and they’ve really sacrificed to do it. This will really help a lot in that regard,” Bloch said.

Avoided Battle

Attorneys for the homeowners, Laurent and Francis Ingardia, and the rental agency, Mathias Properties, said their clients agreed to settle the suit to avoid a costly court fight but maintain they were blameless in the accident. The settlement payments for the defendants are to be covered by insurance.

‘It’s unfortunate that this occurred, and I’m personally glad to see that this youngster is going to be helped,” said Ted Howard, an attorney representing the Ingardias.

“But I don’t think my clients had any responsibility. It was such a tragic thing to occur that we didn’t want to take the risk of losing in court. That’s just too dangerous,” Howard said.