How Can Badminton Puncture Skull? Maine Badminton Accident Explained

You’ve likely heard about the badminton accident in Maine, and you may have many open questions:

• How did something so tragic happen to a 6-year-old girl playing badminton at home in her backyard?
• Are my kids playing badminton safe? Is there something specifically that I should look out for?

I’ve been playing badminton for the last 18 years, 8 of which I play professionally. Additionally, I’m part of the US junior national team and have played all around the globe.

I know the risks of badminton, and I am happy to give you a full breakdown in this blog post.

While it’s incredibly rare, here’s an outline of the highly unlikely 3-step process that would need to occur for a badminton racket to cause a serious injury like puncturing a skull:

Keep reading to learn about the step-by-step details of the unfortunate badminton accident in Maine. Let’s gently explore what happened.

The Anatomy Of A Badminton Racket

Tragically, 6-year-old Lucy passed away after a serious brain injury caused when her brother’s badminton racket accidentally punctured her skull. Despite the efforts of medical staff, Lucy sadly passed away in the hospital four days later.

Here’s how this came to happen.

The badminton racket is made up of 3 parts:

To further illustrate this:

1. The handle: Where you hold the racket.
2. The shaft: What connects the handle to the head.
3. The head: Where you hit the shuttlecock (and where all the strings are).

As you see, there are no dangerous parts to the racket. There’s nothing ‘pointy’ that could puncture a skull…

… so how in the world could a harmless object like this possibly cause the death of an innocent little girl?

Here’s how:

How A Badminton Racket Can Puncture Skull

In the case of the Maine badminton accident, the 6-year-old girl played with her brothers.

Disaster struck in 3 unbelievably devastating steps:

1. The brother swung the racket to hit the shuttlecock.
2. During the swing, the shaft separated from the handle.
3. The separated shaft (with a pointy end) struck the girl in the head.

Here’s an illustration to visualize this:

What Is The Likelihood Of This Happening?

As you can see in the illustration above, there are a few things that need to go wrong for this to happen:

1. The badminton racquet needs to be damaged so that the shaft can break.
2. The shaft needs to break so that the end is pointy and sharp, like a ‘flying knife’.
3. The shaft must fly with enough speed.
4. The shaft must hit the person (and not fly somewhere else).
5. The shaft must hit the person in the head.

Although uncommon, badminton rackets can break – and the parts can separate from each other. This is likely due to manufacturer error – either poor building or low-quality parts.

But all the following 4 things happening too that have a very low likelihood, makes this an absolute freak accident.

Having played nearly every day for over twenty years in over thirty countries, I have rarely seen a racket break or separate itself, and I have never seen it endanger a person.

How Can You Protect Your Children?

Please remember that playing badminton is a very low-risk sport for your children.

• It doesn’t involve the risk of high-speed collisions, like soccer.
• It doesn’t involve repetitive jumping and hard landings, like basketball.
• It avoids the risk of head injuries from falling, like gymnastics.
• It avoids the danger of accidental drowning, like swimming.

That’s why I’m comfortable in telling you that the chances of your child dying from badminton – or even getting injured from badminton are close to zero.

Having said that, there are a few additional things you can do to protect your children:

1. Teach your children proper badminton form: Bring in a coach to help them understand how to hold and use the badminton racket so they don’t damage it while trying to figure it out on their own.
2. Buy name brands of badminton rackets: Paying a little bit extra for name brands, such as Yonex or Li-Ning, can go a long way in protecting your children, as cheaper brands are more likely to break.

With that in mind, I sincerely hope that Lucy’s parents can find some comfort in knowing that this was an unimaginable, tragic accident. An accident that no one could have foreseen or prevented.

There is absolutely no blame to be placed, and my heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to their beautiful family during this incredibly difficult time.

Wishing you all the strength and love in the world.

With deepest sympathy and respect,
– Justin

Frequently Answered Questions About The Badminton Maine Accident

I’ve tried to make the previous blog post as comprehensive as possible. However, there might still be open questions you have about the specifics of the accident, or the overall safety of badminton for children.

Here are answers to some of the questions you might still have lingering top of mind:

Who was the girl killed in the badminton accident?

Lucy Morgan, a bright and beloved 6-year-old, is survived by her siblings and parents. Her parent’s name are Bethany and Jesse Morgan.

For those who wish to learn more about the journey of the Morgan family through this heartbreaking time, Lucy’s father Jesse Morgan has shared their story with deep reflections on his blog, which you can find here: One Month Closer: Groanings Too Deep for Words.

How did the badminton accident happen?

According to the Maine state police, the first responders of the Maine Medical Center, and the Morgan family, here’s what happened: During a game of badminton on a vacation in Maine, the brother’s badminton racquet dislodged accidentally, and the sharp end of the aluminum shaft tragically struck Lucy in the head.

This caused a catastrophic brain injury, which ultimately led to her heartbreaking passing.

Is badminton safe for children?

Yes, absolutely! While the accident in Maine is an unimaginable and heartbreaking tragedy, it’s essential to know that such incidents are incredibly rare. The accident in Maine is certainly a freak badminton accident.

Badminton is generally a safe and enjoyable sport for children. It encourages physical fitness, coordination, and agility in a non-contact setting. Often, playing badminton at a young age helps build healthy habits that help the children stay healthy and fit for a lifetime while fostering positive social connections.