ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The family of a 6-year-old boy, who drowned at a St. Louis County pool one year ago this month, has settled a lawsuit against the county for $8 million and the promise that a playground will be named in his honor.
The agreement requires the county's insurance company, Berkeley Public Entity, pay $3 million of the settlement and that the county pay $5 million.
T.J. Mister drowned at the Kennedy Recreation Center pool during a county-operated summer camp program on July 20, 2022. His parents, Travone and Olga Mister confirmed the settlement to 5 On Your Side Thursday.
“Nothing is going to bring him back,” Olga Mister said. “People think that we won, but in reality, we lost on July 20, 2022."
“There’s no winning here. We would much rather have him here than have all this money,” she said.
Since his death, the Misters have worked to shed light on the lack of summer camp regulations, in an effort to prevent others from dying as their son did – at a pool where there were not enough lifeguards on duty.
Page’s spokesman Doug Moore sent a statement to 5 On Your Side in May after the I-Team obtained body camera footage showing the chaos that followed T.J.’s drowning.
“All camp counselors and customer-facing staff will be certified in first aid, CPR and AED,” it read. “They had all been trained in these areas before, but not certified. The county also hired Midwest Pool Management to oversee all pools. And all children will be given mandatory swim tests in the camps that include swimming.”
The county’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit just weeks ago, stating its employees rejected Olga's offer of a life vest for her son. The county admitted that it “represented that T.J. would not be left alone in the pool, would be monitored at all times, and that a member of the staff would be with him and supervising him at all times while he was in the pool.”
County attorneys also denied that his mother told camp staff her son could not swim, or that he required a life vest to enter the water.
“County admits T.J. did not use a life vest or flotation device to enter the water, although life vests are available for swimmers,” according to the county’s motion to dismiss the case filed on July 7.
The Misters have started a nonprofit called T.J.’s Story, hosted donation drives to give stuffed animals to children in pediatric hospitals and hosted community events to raise awareness for swim lessons for children.
The Misters say their most important mission is to get summer camp regulations passed through the state legislature.
State Rep. Michael Burton's (D-District 92) bill would have required camps to run background checks on camp employees; have emergency action plans; require CPR training for staff; and require random state inspections for camps with aquatic activities.
The bill didn’t even make it out of the Children and Families Committee chaired by Rep. Hannah Kelly (R-District 141) this past session.
“We’re going to put some of this money into T.J.’s Story and give back to the community, and, starting in January, we’ll be back in the capitol,” Olga said.
After signing the settlement agreement Thursday, Olga said she went to Suson Park, where a playground will soon be named in her son’s honor. She looked at pictures from the time she brought her son there when he was almost 2 years old.
“We appreciate the gesture of honoring T.J. that shows that he mattered and will be remembered on a playground where kids will run around in laughter and joy the way we remember T.J.,” she said. “It doesn't bring my TJ back so I feel like we still lost.”
Louis County Executive Sam Page provided this statement, which reads:
“T.J.’s drowning was an absolute tragedy and I hope that today’s settlement brings some solace to his family. This was an unimaginable loss.”