UPDATE: Michigan Mother, Lawyer Speaks Out About ‘Negligent’ Hotel

Her son was stuck underwater at a hotel pool in South Carolina for eight minutes after opening a drain gate.

Insert *sigh* here - yes, of course, she's suing.

The mother of the 12-year-old boy who was sucked underwater at a lazy river during spring break is finally speaking out...with her lawyer.

The surveillance video shows her son and a friend, pulling up a drain gate underneath the water at the Avista Resort in Myrtle Beach. Seconds later, he's sucked under. Tourists and police were able to rescue him and give him CPR; the boy was hospitalized but is now back in school.

His mother, a Commerce Township resident, says that he was trying to retrieve a piece of his goggles, which is why he opened the grate. Her lawyer says that the hotel was negligent and that the grates are supposed to be sealed with proper screws, which it wasn't.

They haven't yet filed a lawsuit, but have indicated that they will, pending the investigation.

If you'd like to see my personal opinion, read on. If not, you can stop. No hard feelings. But as the mother of an 11-year-old boy who loves to swim, I can't hold back on this.

When I saw the headline, I originally thought, "Oh they're gonna sue the pants off that hotel." And then, after reading the story and watching the surveillance video, I thought, "Okay, the kid did something stupid and almost died. It's a tragic lesson learned, but thank goodness he's okay."

And now, they're suing. And it makes me sick. Don't get me wrong; I do believe that big companies and corporations should be held responsible for negligence, because there's a lot of it, and they have enough money to be responsible business owners.

HOWEVER...in this instance, I can't imagine how the mother is turning this into a lawsuit instead of a learning experience. Her kid did something stupid, which is what kids do. We all did it. Instead, they're taking it a step further. And it stinks, in my humble opinion.