Sad Story - Wrong Action

This morning the Today Show did a segment on the dangers of pools in the yards of foreclosed homes. There was mother talking about her 5 year old daughter that drowned in one of these pools last year. It was a very sad story and I feel for the family. That said, I was very troubled by something the mother had said towards the end of the segment:

"I'm angry,” Secrena Erwin told NBC News for a story reported Wednesday on TODAY, the pain of her loss still fresh. “I’m angry that nothing was done. I’m angry that my daughter was taken away because nothing was done.

For Erwin, the loss is even more painful because there seems to be no one to blame for the dangerous situation that claimed her daughter’s life. She has a lawyer, but no one — not the bank, the former owner, or the city — seems to have a clear legal responsibility.

This was a terrible accident, but if you insist on blaming someone, how about starting with the grandmother who was suppose to be watching her? Why does it matter that the pool was left filled and not maintained in the backyard of a foreclosed home? Would it have made any difference if the homeowners still lived there and just happened to be away at the time the little girl wondered over there?

Don't get me wrong, I think it is important for this mother to share her story, but I don't think she should be trying to blame someone for it. Use the story to bring awareness to the problem and try and make changes, but don't seek lawyers in an effort to find someone to sue.