Lawsuit accuses family of negligence over boy's firework injuries

The grandmother of a 12-year-old boy is suing his relatives for alleged negligence after an incident in which the boy lost his right hand.

On March 11, a 12-year-old Joliet boy suffered a severe injury after a large firework went off in his hand inside a home in the 2200 block of Red Hawk Drive, police have said.

Joliet police Sgt. Christopher Botzum said at the time of the incident that it appeared to be an accident involving an “unknown type of firework.”

Yvette Cordero, the boy’s grandmother, filed a lawsuit that claimed Keith Reposa, his grandfather; Lauren Reposa, his mother; and Ryan Reposa, his uncle, were negligent in failing to supervise the boy and keep him away from the firework.

The lawsuit said the force of the firework’s explosion caused the boy to be blown backward, burned his hair, caused lacerations to his face and body, broke some of his bones and severely damaged his right hand to the point that it required amputation.

Ryan Reposa said Friday that he wasn’t at the home at the time of the incident, but he never would have let his nephew be in a position to access an explosive device.

“I would never, ever hand him an explosive or show him where one was,” he said.

Ryan Reposa said his family is being sued for something the boy decided to do himself.

“There’s nothing we can do at that point. He did what he did,” he said.

Cordero alleges in her lawsuit that her grandson found the firework that he believed was a “smoke bomb” in the kitchen after he went looking for something to eat. He apparently found a lighter and lit the firework.

The device went off with a “loud and powerful concussive explosion.”