WASHINGTON 鈥� The family of a 3-year-old boy who fell 26 stories to his death from an apartment window at the Skyline Towers Apartments in May is taking their fight to court after a second child鈥檚 fatal fall.
According to their lawyer, the family of 3-year-old Syed Noor Zaidi expedited the lawsuit following another fatal fall on Monday, where a 2-year-old boy fell 24 stories from a balcony at the same Fairfax County complex. Police say the adult watching the toddler in the latest incident was occupied with another child when the toddler fell off the balcony.
Zaidi鈥檚 family is suing the building owner, Equity Residential, and the property manager for $100 million for negligence, saying they knew the windows were dangerous. Lawyer Kim Brooks-Rodney that while the two incidents happened under different scenarios, Monday鈥檚 prompted her to expedite the filing of the lawsuit.
鈥淚t鈥檚 to bring about awareness; we don鈥檛 want another child to die,鈥� said Brooks-Rodney.
So far, there have been four incidents involving children at Equity Residential apartment buildings, three at Skyline Towers including a nonfatal 2015 fall and another fall at an Equity Residential property in Minnesota last month.
鈥淚t may turn out that this is a problem that the owner and property management company have been aware of for quite some time,鈥� said Brooks-Rodney.
While she acknowledged screens are not meant to keep kids in, and they鈥檙e not suing the screen manufacturer, she said safety measures, including labels, should be put in place to alert parents to the dangers.
Brooks-Rodney said Zaidi鈥檚 parents didn鈥檛 know about Monday鈥檚 fall until she told them about it this week.
Equity Residential has not responded to requests for comment.
