Messina Bulzomi Christensen announces lawsuit in Snohomish ice fatality

Family files lawsuit for death of daughter at popular ice caves
Forest Service failed to post danger signs warning of collapsing ice

Grace Tam

SEATTLE, WA – The family of a girl killed by a truck-sized ice boulder at the Big Four Ice Caves near Verlot, Washington, today filed a lawsuit in Seattle’s U.S. District Court against the U.S. Forest Service. The Forest Service failed to maintain danger signs warning people of the risks of collapsing ice, snow and unstable caves along the trail, the lawsuit charges.

Grace Tam, an 11-year-old Lake Stevens girl, was crushed by an ice boulder on July 31, 2010, while visiting the Big Four Ice Caves located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. She is survived by her father John Tam, her mother Tamami Okauchi and her brother William, all who were with her the day she was killed.

“This is an avalanche zone and needs to be treated like one,” said attorney James McCor

mick of Messina Bulzomi Christensen law firm, who is representing the family. “Had the Forest Service done its job, Grace would be alive today.” A federal judge without a jury will ultimately decide on the merits and damages of the case because the Forest Service is in a federal jurisdiction, attorneys say.

The Big Four Ice Caves are formed from avalanche snow that collects at the base of Big Four Mountain. The caves and surrounding area are constantly changing from unpredictable avalanches, melting snow and ice.

The year-round snow makes the caves a favorite family destination easily reached by a short, handicap-accessible trail that is popular with families managing children in strollers. The Big Four Ice Caves (Trail #723) is one of the most popular hikes in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest with more than 50,000 visitors annually.

“On any given weekend in the summer, it is not uncommon to see hundreds of people clim

bing and playing on the snow formations and even venturing inside the ice caves. Many of these people are entirely unaware of just how dangerous this place is. The heavily manicured trails and volume of human traffic around the caves give families a false sense of safety,” McCormick said.

After replacing the bridge over the Stillaguamish River in 2009, the Forest Service failed to

replace signs warning visitors of the dangerous risks that it had posted in the past, attorneys say. They emphasize there were no such warnings when the Tam family visited in 2010.

Tam’s death represents the second death at the caves due to collapsing snow. Catherine Stockton Shields, a 27-year-old Bothell woman, was killed by collapsing snow at the Big Four Ice Caves on Aug. 2, 1998.

John Tam had stopped to snap a family photo near the caves on the

day Grace was killed. Just as the father started to take the photo, an enormous boulder broke off and rolled down the rocky hill. The truck-sized piece of ice struck Grace, narrowly missing the other family members and exchange students who had joined the family that day.

Grace survived the initial impact, but was critically injured. Family members moved her to a flat rock and immediately began life-saving efforts. Grace told her father that she could not feel her legs. The family frantically tried to keep her conscious by asking her about her favorite teacher, singer and her best friend. Grace told her family

she was thirsty and having trouble breathing. A nurse who was in the area helped perform CPR.

Another visitor immediately left the area to call 911 since there is no cell service near the caves. Records show the caller reached emergency services around 2:30 pm. The Tam family helplessly watched over Grace

while they waited for help. A medical team from Granite Falls did not arrive until 4:15 pm. Grace was pronounced dead at the scene at about 5 pm. The cause of death was a crushed pelvis and other internal injuries.

The Tam family wants the Forest Service to do a better job of protecting families from the dangers of the caves. Grace’s father John has even began volunteering for Snohomish County Search and Rescue to help families in similar emergencies.

“We are heart broken over Grace’s death. And we know her death was preventable. No family should have to endure the senseless agony and pain we have experienced,” said John Tam.

Grace was a fifth-grader and straight-A student at Kellogg Marsh Elementary School in Marysville. She loved to write, draw, keep a scrapbook and play with her dog Sugar, her family says. She was about to earn her red belt in karate and dreamed of opening a shelter for mistreated pets.