Background: The apartment complex where Faith Ziaty allegedly swallowed a battery (Google Maps). Faith Ziaty (Hamilton’s Funeral & After Life Services).
A baby in Iowa died after swallowing a watch battery she found under the broken kick plate of a dishwasher that the landlord hadn’t fixed despite reminders to do so, a new wrongful death lawsuit alleges.
Haja Sesay and Barbejo Ziaty, the parents of Faith Ziaty, allege in their lawsuit that their apartment complex landlord did not fix a broken kick plate under their dishwasher where their daughter found an old watch battery and ate it. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and more, was filed on Aug. 17 in Iowa.
Conlin Properties, Inc., named as a defendant in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Law&Crime.
The lawsuit alleges the series of events leading to the girl’s death started after the family moved into their apartment in Des Moines on Sept. 27, 2022.
A Resident Move-In Inventory Sheet noted that the dishwasher in the unit needed to be repaired. The lawsuit alleges that despite verbal and written reminders about the problem with the kick plate, “the defendants failed to fix and/or replace it.”
“As a result of defendants’ negligence, Faith Ziaty unnecessarily suffered from preventable physical and mental pain and suffering, loss of function and death,” the lawsuit said.
Faith Ziaty wasn’t even a year old when she crawled into the kitchen, placed her hands under the dishwasher and reached behind the broken kick plate, the lawsuit alleges.
There, amid all the debris, was an old watch battery. The girl put the battery in her mouth and swallowed it, the lawsuit alleges.
The battery acid burned her esophagus, causing significant bleeding. Her mother rushed the little girl across the road to a neighboring veterinary clinic, and she was then taken to the hospital.
She died the following morning.
The girl’s obituary described her as easygoing and always happy.
“She was quite a speedy crawler, especially if you were in her good graces,” the tribute said. “If you left the room, she would be right behind you wondering where you were going. She recently began learning to walk and was very good at hanging on to everything and steadying herself. If cartoons were on the TV, especially Cocomelon, she was happy and content. Of course, Faith loved being around her family who all love her very much.”
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