Boatmen's Trust Co. v. Housing Authority of City of North Little Rock

W.H. “Dub” Arnold, Chief Justice.

On May 4, 1990, 22-month-old James D. (J.D.) Henderson suffered severe scald burns while in the bathtub of the apartment in which he lived. J.D. suffered third-degree scald burns over 50 percent of his body, requiring ten months of hospitalization. While his medical bills total almost one million dollars already, J.D. continues to suffer pulmonary problems, mental retardation, subsequent scarring, and other disabilities caused by the burns.

J.D. had been placed in the bathtub by his mother, Yolanda Henderson, in, according to her, about one inch of tepid water.…