The parents of a 6-year-old New Jersey girl have filed a wrongful-death and product-liability lawsuit against a sports equipment manufacturer after their daughter died from injuries caused when a badminton racket came apart during a family vacation. The case centers on allegations that a defective design turned ordinary recreational equipment into a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly projectile.

Lucy Morgan was vacationing with her parents, Jesse and his wife, and her siblings at a rental cottage in Limerick, Maine, on June 1, 2024. It was the final full day of their trip. While Lucy and a younger sibling watched nearby, her 10-year-old brother played badminton in the front yard using a set that had been provided with the cottage. According to Maine State Police and the lawsuit, as the boy swung the racket, the aluminum shaft separated from the wooden handle. The metal portion struck Lucy in the temple area of her head and pierced her skull.

Lucy stood up screaming. Her parents, who were behind the house, heard her cries and ran to her. She collapsed shortly afterward. Emergency responders took her first to Southern Maine Health Care in Sanford. Because of the severity of the injury, she was then airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland. Despite medical efforts, Lucy died on June 5, 2024, four days after the incident.

In mid-August 2026, nearly two years later, the Morgan family filed suit in York County Superior Court in Maine against Franklin Sports Inc., the Mᴀssachusetts-based company that manufactured the badminton set. The complaint alleges that the racket was defective and unreasonably dangerous for normal use. Specifically, the lawsuit claims the handle and metal shaft were not properly secured, the adhesive joining the two parts was insufficient or defective, and the design lacked any secondary safety feature—such as a simple pin—that could have kept the metal section from flying free if the bond failed. The family further alleges that Franklin Sports failed to provide adequate warnings about the potential risk.

Attorneys for the family have stated that this was not the first time a similar separation had occurred with the company’s equipment. They claim a child in New York previously suffered a serious eye injury when a racket came apart, and that the manufacturer was aware of that incident yet did not implement a low-cost design change. Attorney Charles P. Hehmeyer described the tragedy as “a parent’s worst nightmare,” noting that the family had been enjoying a peaceful summer vacation when the equipment failed.

The lawsuit seeks both compensatory and punitive damages. These include recovery for funeral expenses, the emotional distress suffered by Lucy’s parents and her three siblings who witnessed the event, and the loss of her companionship, comfort, and society under Maine law. No specific monetary amount has been publicly specified.

Lucy’s father, Jesse Morgan, serves as a pastor at Green Pond Bible Chapel in Rockaway, New Jersey. In the days and weeks after her death, he spoke about the role of faith in the family’s grieving process. He shared that a friend later returned Lucy’s backpack, inside of which was a prayer journal she had received about a month before the accident. The journal contained drawings, Bible-related notes, and expressions of her belief. Jesse described finding it as one of the most meaningful moments amid the family’s profound loss and said he had no doubt about the strength of her faith.

Franklin Sports issued a statement expressing its deepest sympathies to Lucy’s family and everyone affected by the accident. The company said that because the matter is now in litigation, it cannot comment on the specific claims in the lawsuit. It added that it takes product-safety issues very seriously, remains committed to quality and safety standards, and is carefully reviewing the circumstances of the incident.

The case continues to move through the legal system. The family’s attorneys have emphasized that their goals include both seeking accountability for Lucy’s death and encouraging design improvements so that similar recreational equipment cannot fail in the same way in the future.