Mass. Jury Returns $20M Verdict in Pool Slide Suit

A Massachusetts jury has ordered Toys `R Us to pay more than $20 million to the family of a woman who was killed when an inflatable pool slide partially collapsed at a 2006 party.

The Salem Superior Court verdict, returned Thursday, came after attorneys for Robin Aleo’s family argued the slide purchased from the toy retailer was not tested to determine if it met certain safety standards.

The Eagle-Tribune reports that Aleo, who lived in Colorado, was visiting family in Andover when she slid head-first down the slide and it partially collapsed. She suffered fatal injuries when she struck her head on the pool’s edge.

Toys `R Us attorneys argued the regulations cited did not apply to that inflatable slide. They could not be reached Sunday to determine if the company planned to appeal.