The tragic drowning of 3-year-old Kai Bernabe in the backyard pool of his suburban Los Angeles home has sparked a legal battle between his grieving parents and Amazon, one of the world’s largest online retailers.
Mark Bernabe and Jasmine Coleman, Kai’s parents, claim that a faulty sliding-door lock purchased from Amazon is to blame for their son’s death. While authorities initially ruled the incident as a terrible accident, the parents now argue that the lock’s failure led directly to the tragedy.
Their lawsuit, which was recently moved from Los Angeles County Superior Court to federal court, places significant responsibility on Amazon and the manufacturer of the lock, Okefan.
The complaint alleges that the lock, advertised as a childproof safety device, was defectively designed and failed to secure the sliding glass door leading to the family’s backyard. As a result, Kai and his twin brother Liam were able to push the door open, wander outside, and ultimately fall into the pool. While Liam survived, Kai tragically lost his life.
The Events Leading to the Tragedy
On the morning of April 21, 2023, the Bernabe family went about their usual routine. After an active start to the day, Mark and Jasmine put their twin boys down for a nap before resting themselves. As a precaution, they made sure the sliding glass door leading to their backyard was securely locked, as they always did.
However, video footage from that day revealed the horrifying sequence of events that unfolded while the parents were asleep. The footage shows Kai and Liam waking up and making their way to the sliding glass doors. They placed a chair against the glass and, in a heartbreaking twist, the lock failed to hold.
The door unlatched, allowing the toddlers to step outside. For several minutes, the twins played in the backyard before entering the pool. Unaware of the danger, they moved towards the deeper areas, where disaster struck.
Moments later, security footage captured Jasmine rushing out of the house in sheer panic as she spotted Kai floating unconscious in the shallow end. She immediately grabbed his lifeless body and ran back inside, desperately performing CPR while screaming for Mark, who was still asleep, to wake up.
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Realizing that Liam was also missing, Mark sprinted outside and found his son unresponsive in the deep end of the pool. He quickly pulled Liam out and called 911 as the parents frantically tried to save both their children.
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Paramedics arrived at the scene within minutes and rushed the twins to Northridge Hospital’s pediatric trauma center. Tragically, Kai was pronounced dead upon arrival, while Liam fought for his life before miraculously surviving. The devastating loss left the Bernabe family in unimaginable grief, prompting them to search for answers.
A Lawsuit Against Amazon and the Lock Manufacturer
As the family grappled with their loss, they began investigating how their sons had managed to unlock the sliding glass door. Their search led them to the lock they had purchased from Amazon, a product marketed as a childproof safety device.
The lawsuit alleges that Amazon and the lock’s manufacturer, Okefan, failed to adequately test the product before selling it to consumers.
According to the complaint, the lock was advertised as “durable and effective” and claimed to be a “childproof safety device” capable of withstanding the “pulls and tugs of babies and children.”
However, consumer complaints on Amazon and social media suggested otherwise. The lawsuit states that multiple parents had reported similar issues, warning that the lock could be defeated with minimal effort by young children.
Despite these warnings, Amazon allegedly continued selling the product without providing any safety advisories or removing it from their marketplace. The lawsuit claims that both Amazon and Okefan had prior knowledge of the lock’s deficiencies but failed to take action, thereby putting countless families at risk.
The complaint argues that Mark and Jasmine relied on Amazon’s reputation and assumed that products sold on the platform met safety standards. Jasmine, in particular, was drawn to the product’s advertised security features, trusting that it would keep her children safe. The family’s attorneys argue that Amazon’s failure to properly vet and regulate third-party sellers directly contributed to Kai’s death.
Okefan, which is also listed as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, has been difficult to reach for comment. The company operates a basic website with no clear indication of where it is headquartered.
Its customer service page is riddled with grammatical errors, and its contact information is largely absent. This lack of transparency raises concerns about whether proper safety testing was conducted before the product was made available to consumers.
Amazon’s Defense and the Ongoing Legal Battle
In response to the lawsuit, Amazon has denied liability, arguing that it had no knowledge of any defects in the sliding-door lock. The company’s legal team stated that Amazon “did not know and had no reason to know” that the lock was unsafe and rejected claims that it acted negligently.
Furthermore, Amazon’s defense team asserted that the Bernabe family may have “misused, abused, altered, or improperly maintained” the product, contributing to the accident. They also claimed that the product complied with all applicable industry standards at the time of sale.
Legal experts believe that this case could set a significant precedent regarding Amazon’s responsibility for third-party products sold on its platform. Unlike traditional retailers, Amazon operates as an online marketplace, allowing independent sellers to list and sell products directly to consumers.
This model has raised questions about liability when defective products cause harm, as Amazon often argues that it is merely a facilitator rather than the actual seller.
However, the Bernabe family’s lawsuit challenges this defense, asserting that Amazon played a crucial role in marketing, advertising, and distributing the lock. The family is seeking a minimum of $2 million in damages and has requested a jury trial. The first court hearing is scheduled for May 2, where both sides will present their arguments.
The tragic case has reignited conversations about child safety and the need for stricter regulations on e-commerce platforms. Consumer advocates argue that companies like Amazon should be held accountable for the products sold on their site, especially when those products claim to provide safety protections.
The grief-stricken parents, still mourning the loss of their son, hope that their legal battle will prevent similar tragedies from happening to other families. In a statement, a family friend expressed the depth of their sorrow, stating, “There are no words to describe the pain the family is feeling.” The friend also emphasized the importance of ensuring that such unsafe products are no longer sold to unsuspecting parents.
As the lawsuit progresses, many will be watching closely to see whether Amazon and other major e-commerce platforms will be forced to take greater responsibility for product safety. For the Bernabe family, however, no legal victory can ever bring back their beloved Kai. Their only wish now is that no other parent has to endure the heartbreak they have suffered.