Zoo Officials Say Mother Caused Maddox Derkosh's Death

Story by Robert Edward Healy, III.

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium attorneys have filed a cross-claim against the mother of Maddox Derkosh, saying that her "carelessness, negligence, and/or recklessness" caused the death of her 2-year-old boy in November 2012, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Maddox was 2 years old when he and his mother, Elizabeth—both of Whitehall Borough—visited the zoo on Nov. 4. During their visit, Maddox fell from the top of a platform railing to the ground inside of the pit area of an African painted dogs exhibit and was mauled to death.

Pittsburgh police said that the child lost his balance after his mother lifted him in a standing position onto the 4-foot-high wooden railing that overlooks the enclosure.

Previously, Maddox's parents had filed a lawsuit against the zoo, claiming negligence and wrongful death.