Lawsuit announced in Snohomish County falling-ice fatality

EVERETT, Wash. — A Tacoma law firm called a news conference Tuesday to announce a lawsuit in the death of Grace Tam, a Marysville girl killed by falling ice in July 2010 at the Big Four Ice Caves east of Granite Falls.

The 11-year-old was on a family outing when a block of ice the size of a pickup truck broke loose and slid into where she was sitting with her mother, some distance from the caves.

The Daily Herald reports the family said it heeded warning signs and stayed off the ice at the popular hiking destination in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

Forest spokesman Kelly Sprute (SPROO'-tee) said it doesn't comment on ongoing litigation.

The lawsuit is being handled by the Tacoma law firm of Messina Bulzomi Christensen.