Warning: Ths article contains inquest evidence details that some people may find upsetting.
A Coroner has ruled that the death of a Christchurch toddler who climbed into the family washing machine was a tragic accident - and the first of its kind in New Zealand.
The little girl died at a Hoon Hay property on February 20 last year.
Emergency services were called to the house just before 5pm after the child had been found in the washing machine which had been turned on.
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She was revived and rushed to hospital but had sustained catastrophic injuries and died, surrounded by her family, the next day.
The death was investigated and referred to Coroner Alexander Ho, who made a ruling on the death last month.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I record that there was no evidence of any involvement of any adult or any other person in (the girl’s) death,” he said.
“There were no suspicious circ*mstances or evidence of criminal wrongdoing.”
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Coroner Ho released his findings to the Herald - however much of the information is suppressed to protect the girl’s family, particularly her siblings.
The family did not want to speak publicly about her death or the findings.
Coroner Ho described the child as a “happy-go-lucky” little girl who lived with her parents and older siblings and loved them dearly.
“She kept to herself and enjoyed playing with her toys… liked to climb and jump on the trampoline… she attended kindergarten,” he said.
“The family’s neighbour described the family as happy and polite.”
The Coroner heard that the family replaced their top-loading washing machine in 2020, installing a front loader.
When the top loader was operating the door to the laundry was usually closed to prevent the children from pushing buttons and pausing the cycle.
Otherwise the door was left open.
Coroner Ho said the new washing machine would only operate with the door shut and the door would lock closed during a cycle.
On the day of the tragedy, the little girl went out for lunch with her parents and grandmother.
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They went shopping and then the mother took her on the school run to pick up her siblings.
Back at the house everything was normal - several of the siblings played video games and another played in their bedroom.
At about 4pm another adult and child arrived at the house.
“The children went out to greet them,” said Coroner Ho.
“They then returned to the lounge, ostensibly to continue playing PlayStation. The adults went into the kitchen and had coffee.”
At one point the little girl went into the kitchen but her father sent her away as the adults were having a cigarette and he did not want her around the smoke.
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The little girl ran down the hallway crying and an older sibling went and comforted her and took her to the lounge.
“(The child) left the lounge and went out to the front gate where she waved at a passerby… (her) sister then saw her run to the back of the house,” said Coroner Ho.
“Soon after, (she) played a trick on her sister by knocking at the back door and running away before it was opened.
“The sister found (her) on the trampoline and briefly played with her before returning to the lounge.”
At about 4.45pm the adults were preparing to leave the house but could not find the little girl.
“They called her name. When they did this (she) usually answered and they could quickly find her. However, on this occasion (she) did not respond,” said Coroner Ho.
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“(Her parents) searched around the house, outside the gate and in the car.
“When (the mother) checked the (laundry) she noticed that a light on the washing machine was flashing. She thought this was odd as she had not done any washing.
“The washing machine was about half full of still and murky water.
“(The mother) saw something inside the water and, upon looking closer, realised it was (the little girl).”
The woman screamed out for the girl’s father as she tried to pry the washing machine door open.
The father ran to her and forced it open, pulling the child out.
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“She was floppy and her face was purple,” siad Coroner Ho.
“(Her father) placed (her) on the ground outside and commenced CPR.”
Someone called 111 and paramedics and firefighters converged on the property and took over resuscitation efforts.
The child was unresponsive and had a contusion to the side of her head.
She was rushed to Christchurch Hospital and emergency department specialists managed to revive and stabilise her.
“Staff continued to try to stabilise and optimise (her) breathing and circulation,” said Coroner Ho.
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“The CT scan showed significant brain injury… Doctors met with (her family) and explained that she had sustained a severe brain injury.
“They advised the most likely outcome was that she would not survive.”
The child’s condition deteriorated overnight and she died the next day, surrounded by her family.
A post-mortem examination was carried out by forensic pathologist Dr Martin Sage.
He ruled the child’s cause of death was a severe brain injury, secondary to “enclosed space asphyxia”.
Much of the detail of Coroner Ho’s findings cannot be published as it would breach permanent suppression orders put in place to protect the young victim’s family.
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However, he allowed the Herald to publish the outcome, saying it was in the public interest.
“There was no evidence to suggest that (the child) was deliberately placed into the machine by another person,” said Coroner Ho.
“Police conducted an investigation and were satisfied there were no suspicious circ*mstances.
“The evidence was that they were a happy family and there had never been any substantive concerns reported about the family or the children’s welfare.”
Coroner Ho said no one at the house saw exactly what happened - but based on the police findings he could make final conclusions.
The police findings included an in-depth report from Mark Jermy - a Canterbury University professor in mechanical engineering - about how the washing machine operated.
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“I find that (the girl) voluntarily climbed into the washing machine. Professor Jermy’s report demonstrates she was able to do so and there is no evidence to support any other theory,” said Coroner Ho.
“How did the wash cycle start? The door latches, in that it is held shut by the spring-loaded latch, when it is fully closed.
“The door can still be opened from the inside when it is latched but not locked. The door will lock if it is both latched and the machine is attempting to start a wash cycle.
“Therefore, if (the girl) had crawled inside the drum and closed the door, she would have been able to push open the door and crawl out – provided a cycle had not been initiated.”
Coroner Ho said a wash cycle could be initiated in one of two sequences.
“It could be started in the more common way of closing the door, powering on the machine and then pressing the start button.
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“Alternatively, with this model of machine, it was also possible to press the start button first and then close the door. The cycle would then automatically start provided that the door was closed within 12 seconds of the start button being pressed.
“There is no evidence of anyone else starting the washing machine.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, I record that there was no evidence of any involvement of any adult or any other person in (the girl’s) death.”
Coroner Ho said around the world, deaths of children who trap themselves in washing machines were rare.
The girl’s was the first case of its type in New Zealand.
He considered what, if any, recommendations he could make to prevent similar deaths in future.
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He noted a number of safety recommendations were published by child safety advocates after the girl’s death including restricting access to laundry rooms, keeping frontloading washing machine doors closed and engaging the built-in lock feature, installing a childproof safety lock and turning the master power switch off or water supply.
“While these are sensible and precautionary steps… there is a real risk that their high cost of compliance mean that they will not be widely adopted,” Coroner Ho said.
“They all require additional time and effort. Families do laundry on a frequent basis. Busy parents are unlikely to have the inclination or energy to take additional cumbersome steps such as turning on and off mains water, or consulting a manual to undo and engage a child lock, every time they start or finish a load of washing.
“Any meaningful recommendations to prevent deaths like (this) must account for what users are realistically prepared to do and not add any material inconvenience; in short, they should be easy to carry out.”
Coroner Ho considered a number options but settled on two main recommendations.
“Washing machine manufacturers should consider displaying, on the appliance itself, instructions on how to engage the child lock settings,” he said.
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“Washing machine manufacturers should consider introducing a double button start child safety setting, or similar, to minimise the risk of children unintentionally starting the washing machine.
“Such a setting should be able to be optionally activated by an adult user and remain activated until intentionally de-activated.”
He said the government consideration should be given to “requiring, by regulation”, that washing machines sold in New Zealand display, on the appliance itself, instructions on how to engage the child lock settings; and have an optional double button start child safety setting, or similar, which can be optionally activated by an adult user and which can remain activated until intentionally de-activated.
Coroner Ho also explained why he had suppressed the child’s name and other information.
“Publication of the details around (the child’s) death is sufficient to satisfy the public interest in knowing what occurred and the safety recommendations I have made,” he said.
“It is not necessary to also publish (her) name.
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“There are good reasons here for non-publication and which align with the general principles of protecting vulnerable people as envisaged by those statutes.
“It is enough to publish that the death was due to (the child) playing in and around the washing machine and not due to criminal wrongdoing or the actions of any adult; and the associated safety warnings about the dangers of children playing with washing machines.”
