Family On Hook For $132K After Boy Hugs, Topples Glass Sculpture

OVERLAND PARK, KS — A 5-year-old boy made a $132,000 “oops” last month when he toppled a glass sculpture at a wedding reception last month in Overland Park. His parents got a bill from the city’s insurance company, which says they’re responsible for the damage to the sculpture, “Aphrodite di Kansas City.”

A surveillance video shows the boy “tried to climb the statue, causing the statue to become unstable and fall forward,” according to an Overland Park police report. The artwork was on loan to the city from Kansas City artist Bill Lyons.

City spokesman Sean Reilly emphasized in an email to Patch that "the city has not sent a bill or even communicated with the family."

"We filed a claim with our insurance company who is reaching out to the family's insurance company for possible settlement," Reilly said. "This is no different than if you were in a vehicle accident with another motorist. The two insurance companies would communicate to settle any claims.

"That is exactly what our insurance company is doing. We are not billing the family."

Sarah Goodman, the boy’s mother, told the Kansas City Star it was an unfortunate accident and her children are well-behaved. She and her husband were saying goodbye to the bride’s father when they heard the commotion around the corner.

“He probably hugged it,” Goodman told The Star. “Maybe my son hugged a torso because he’s a loving, sweet, nice boy who just graduated from preschool.”

However it happened, Lyons wants a check to cover his time working on the project and its worth. He told the newspaper it took him two years to complete the sculpture, which was made of small pieces and other materials. He said it was unique, his most ambitious art project so far and cannot be repaired. Lyons did not have insurance on the sculpture.

Goodman told The Star the sculpture wasn’t properly secured. Smaller pieces were in display cases, she said.

“It’s clear accidents happen and this was an accident,” Goodman said of the May 19 incident. “I don’t want to diminish the value of their art. But I can’t pay for that.”

The Goodmans came home from vacation to find the letter from Travelers, the city’s insurance company. It said that under common law in Kansas, they “are responsible for the supervision of a minor child and your failure to monitor them during this loss could be considered negligent.”

That rankled Goodman, who said she and her husband were outside the range of the surveillance camera when the statue crashed to the floor.

“I was surprised, absolutely, more so offended to be called negligent,” she told ABC News. “They were treating this like a crime scene.”

“No one would ever to expect that to come into a place that kids are invited and have to worry about a $132,000 dollar piece of art falling on their child,” Goodman said. “Because he didn’t maliciously break that. It fell on him. It was not secure, it was not safe — at all.”

She told The Star that no asked if her son was injured. It was a traumatic experience for him, she said, and he received some injuries to his face.

The city of Overland Park has been displaying the work of local artists in some of its buildings for several years. This is the first report of damage.

“We’ve had other pieces there [and] we’ve not had problems,” Reilly told ABC. “We’ve not had this situation … we’ve not had kids climb on our pieces.”

Watch the surveillance video below:

Photo via Shutterstock