Weston YMCA Sued Over Boy's Fall

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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - The parents of an 11-year-old Weston boy are suing the Weston YMCA after their son fell more than 30 feet off a rock wall at his birthday party in May.

The child, Devin Pabian, suffered serious injuries.

The family's attorney, Jay Cohen, shared photos with CBS 4 News showing the boy with a smile on his face as he was getting a harness wrapped around his waist prior to ascending the wall. However, Cohen said the boy's safety equipment was not properly secured and once at the top of the wall, he did a free fall to the hard floor below in view of his family and friends.

Cohen said that there were no padded mats on the ground to break the boys' fall and there was no employee supervision of the wall.

Pabian suffered a spinal fracture, two broken wrists and a broken ankle and spent several weeks in the hospital.

"It's a miracle that he survived the fall and its a tragedy that the fall even occurred because there was no need for that to happen," said Cohen.

Cohen said the family is focused on Devin's recovery and on making sure this doesn't happen to any other family.

The YMCA sent us a statement from Cynthia Allen Smith, Chief Advancement Officer. It reads:

"Our primary concern is for the swift recovery of this young boy, and the incident is still being investigated. We have not reviewed the lawsuit and cannot speculate or comment."