The mother of a little boy who suffered severe brain damage while attending a Salvation Army summer day camp in June 2009 has settled her lawsuit against the organization for an undisclosed sum.
On June 2, 2009, Salvation Army staff took Ethan Bennett, 6, and two dozen other kids swimming at a pool on North Richey Boulevard.
According to documents filed by Michael Crawford, the boy's attorney, a group of kids were swimming in the deep end of the pool when one of the girls noticed something at the bottom of the pool. She asked to borrow a pair of goggles, swam to the bottom of the pool and saw and touched Ethan.
One of the other kids got out of the pool and went to where staff members were. A 16-year-old staff member dove into the pool and got Ethan out. He wasn't breathing.
Crawford alleged none of the Salvation Army's staff members or volunteers were certified life guards, nor were they certified in CPR.
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Crawford further alleged a staff member performed CPR on Ethan incorrectly because he didn't give him enough chest compressions and the compressions he did give were in the wrong spot.
The first staff member to call 911 was too upset to speak; another one didn't know the address, Crawford alleged.
No one knew how long Ethan was under the water and by the time paramedics arrived, Ethan hadn't been breathing for at least six minutes.
Ethan was intubated at the hospital and his heartbeat was restored.
In November 2010, Crawford asked Judge Carmine Cornelio to grant his client a summary judgment. He noted that even the defendant's own doctor  said Ethan "was not effectively resuscitated within a time frame conducive to recovery of useful brain function."
Ethan can't walk, talk, or eat normal food on his own, Crawford wrote in his motion.
Judge Cornelio didn't grant the summary judgment and the lawsuit was settled during mediation in late March.
Subsequent calls to the Salvation Army's attorneys were not returned.
Had the case not been settled, it would've gone to trial May 1.
"It's been a long tough road, but they've persevered," Crawford said about his clients recently. "They are ready to get on with their lives."
