State appeals court dismisses lawsuit over child’s drowning in PDC city pool

A wrongful death lawsuit over a child’s drowning in a public swimming pool will not be taken up by a Wisconsin appeals court. 

State judges have upheld a ruling in Crawford County, dismissing the suit against the city of Prairie du Chien and the school district there.

Kashton Warrington was 4 years old when he was rescued from the city pool in Prairie du Chien in 2017, during a swimming class, but he died two days later in a La Crosse hospital. 

The local governments claimed “recreational immunity” from lawsuits, because the boy was taking part in a recreational activity at the time. 

The lawsuit argued that Kashton wasn’t being taught at the time swimming instructors lost track of him, and that he wasn’t actually swimming because he didn’t know how. 

Those arguments were turned down by the appeals court.