Parents of child who died from amoeba at Arlington splash pad set to speak
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — The parents of Bakari Williams, who died last year after contracting a deadly amoeba infection from a city splash park, will speak publicly for the first time Thursday after agreeing on a settlement with the city.
Last October, Bakari's parents filed a lawsuit after the 3-year-old was later diagnosed with an infection caused by the brain eating amoeba and died. The lawsuit sought $1 million in damages, claiming the City of Arlington was negligent by failing to properly monitor and chlorinate the water.
The toddler's family has been focused on preventing this from happening to any other child, and part of the settlement with the city covers that.
The settlement includes the following:
- A payment of $250,000 to Bakari's family
- Adding the latest technology to treat water at all aquatic facilities
- Posting QR codes at each aquatic location so people can access the latest information on testing
- Distributing a new policy manual titled "The Bakari Williams Protocol" that will guide staff on treatment protocols
City officials said they're confident all the changes will prevent a similar incident from ever happening again in Arlington.