Dead cheerleader's mom sues Tewksbury gym

This headline...'Dead Cheerleaders Mom.." seems a bit distasteful. This poor woman lost her child...

My heart goes out to the family of the Cheerleader, however, I am totally against people suing other people/companies for wrong reasons. Ashley obviously was doing something that she loved very much and it was as the death certificate ruled "an accident". There was noway that the gym could of known the extent of her injuries or prevented them. Ashley's mom, if she truly just wants sanctions on cheerleading should do just that and push for better protection. I don't know how to say this diplomaticaly but if she was suing who injured her daughter, it would be the other cheerleader that caught her incorrectly (which would not be right either). Please remember your daugher as positive and not by suing a business and putting them out of business

she wasn't even on the East Elite team, so it really makes no sense why she would try to sue the gym, the gym was just where they were practicing. they weren't responsible for her, it's the teams responsiblity to CATCH her to right way after popping her in a stunt and they should have known about her spleen before putting her in a stunt to begin with, it's not the GYM'S fault. grow up and stop blaming other people for your stupidity for not being careful with YOUR daughters health problems.

Bravo Stacy you hit it right on the head!!!!!!!!!!

Mom wrote:

This headline...'Dead Cheerleaders Mom.." seems a bit distasteful. This poor woman lost her child...

I had the same thought as I read the headline. Leave it to the Sun to be cold and distasteful yet again. Gee have they lost all empathy? I guess it is just another story to them. Yikes!

My heart go out to the mother. However by suing the school gym, will not bring your daughter back. Accident will happened any where and any how. Please forgive me for saying this. Wishing you luck.

Why she is filing a claim is beyond me it's not the fault of the facility or the girls. Do you think they deliberatly wanted to kill her , I dont think so, if the girl was 90 lbs then maybe the mother should wonder first why she was 90 lbs and maybe she should of not been cheerleading.

Think about it if you were a teenange girl and some girl was doing a flip and you had to catch her don't you think you would have to grab her kind of hard and steadily to hold her?

I think this mother is in denial of something, but come on a claim is just plain old crazy.

14 year old girl, 90 lbs.: underweight and should have been deemed unfit to perform such stunts.

However, she did willingly take part in the exercise, no doubt with her parents approval.

Wrongful death lawsuit??

How? did someone coerce the girl into participating in the sport or stunt?

Mom wrote:

This headline...'Dead Cheerleaders Mom.." seems a bit distasteful. This poor woman lost her child...

Tabloid Headline = Gossip Rag = Lowell Sun

No where was it mentioned that the girl had mono weeks prior to this practice. When you have mono your spleen swells and any impact onto the stomach would and could result in a splentic laceration or rupture. The mothers issue should not be with the gym, cheerleaders or anyone else, she as a parent should have followed up with her childs doctor to get medical clearance for her to resume her practice.

When you have mono the doctors stress to you to be careful of your spleen. I didnt know she had mono before that. I think this family is sue happy....to wait until 3 yrs almost after her death.

To All Those Monday Morning Quarterbacks:

Try walking a mile in the woman's shoes and then see what you would do. Sometimes it requires a lawsuit before changes can be made. Just how many people burned up in Ford Pinto rear end crashes before Ford finally recalled them for a 3 cent part replacement? The answer is too many -and Ford still did not do the recall because in the corporation's eyes, it was cheaper to defend or pay off the families of the injured and killed than it would have been to do a massive recall.

How many babies choked to death because the crib slats were too wide? Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out if the crib slats were too wide the baby's head could fit through and pose a danger of suffocation, but the crib makers didn't move the bars together until they were sued and forced to do it.

Get with the program, folks. Sometimes change has to be forced on people. If you aren't sure, go watch the movie Erin Brockavich and Google P G & E (Pacific Gas & Electric)- that'll remind you.

who would be sued if the child was at home practicing this stunt?

My heart goes out to the mother but the daughter probably had the early stages of mono which swells your spleen. Events like this happen in all sports, but it's the risk you take to play the sport. I'm all for the mother to raise awarness of the subject but I think a lawsuit just goes too far. All that can be said about this accident is that it is UNFORTUNATE.

Townie wrote:

To All Those Monday Morning Quarterbacks:
Try walking a mile in the woman's shoes and then see what you would do. Sometimes it requires a lawsuit before changes can be made. Just how many people burned up in Ford Pinto rear end crashes before Ford finally recalled them for a 3 cent part replacement? The answer is too many -and Ford still did not do the recall because in the corporation's eyes, it was cheaper to defend or pay off the families of the injured and killed than it would have been to do a massive recall.
How many babies choked to death because the crib slats were too wide? Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out if the crib slats were too wide the baby's head could fit through and pose a danger of suffocation, but the crib makers didn't move the bars together until they were sued and forced to do it.
Get with the program, folks. Sometimes change has to be forced on people. If you aren't sure, go watch the movie Erin Brockavich and Google P G & E (Pacific Gas & Electric)- that'll remind you.

But what exactly did the gym do wrong? Give me a break!!!

I believe there's a statute of limitations, which is why they probably filed the suit now - after 3 years I don't think they can sue.

So many things happened that day that were not in this child's favor (ambulances busy, life/med flight busy, etc). I remember feeling so sorry for the girls who caught her as well. I'm not sure what the parents would like done differently. Sports with stunts have risks. How many times had the same girl done that same stunt without issue?

If this poor thing had had mono, that seems to point to circumstances that are beyond the gyms control. Sadly, the parents who let her perform would be more at fault where they would have known the spleen was a risk.

Depends on the height of the girl. My niece, also a teen flyer, is 4'8" and 90 pounds. She's not underweight, she just has a small frame.

A lawsuit is NOT the answer.....there are risks in anything in life. Does that mean that we should sit at home watching T.V.? NO! Life is too short to worry about that. East Elite is a wonderful gym (my daughter isn't on a team there, but we rented gym space there before). They are a very well ran gym. The children's safety is #1 to them. Even if there wasn't an underlying health problem....they should not be held responsible for an accident. As for a few people making a comment about the girls weight.....my daughter was 73lbs at 12 yrs and now 90lbs at 13.......some girls are just light. That does NOT make them in poor health. Aren't there risks for the over weight/heavy girls too? Our Dr. says she's perfectly healthy, just has no fat!

Mine is 5"2' at 90lbs.......! You are right BMI....just slender.

I really feel bad for the family who lost the child......sueing just wrong and unfair to the gym.....

The girl did have mono but was cleared by her dr so who should the lawsuit be against