An 11-year-old girl vacationing in Central Florida was fatally electrocuted in June 2012 when she attempted to retrieve her ball in a resort's miniature golf course pond. Reuters reported that building-safety personnel determined that a faulty pump, connected to the wrong circuit breaker, likely caused an electric current to be sent through the water. Ashton Jojo died at a nearby hospital.
The resort is a property of the Holiday Inn Club Vacations company. Jojo's family alleged in a lawsuit that resort employees did not attempt to help Jojo when she was "unable to move and collapsed in the energized water, thus suffering continuous electrocution." The lawsuit includes premises liability and wrongful death claims.
In a premises liability case such as this, the resort owners and possibly the managers or operators of the miniature golf course are responsible for maintaining its safety. If you are injured or if a loved one is killed at a Clayton County resort or hotel a premises liability attorney at Shane Smith Law can review the accident and injuries and advise you of your legal rights.
Jojo's family filed a lawsuit seeking $27 million in damages from the resort. The lawsuit alleged the resort arbitrarily chose workers who installed the pump and grounding equipment instead of hiring professional electricians. The premises liability and wrongful death suit requested damages for Jojo's medical expenses, mental pain and suffering, funeral costs and "loss of Ashton's companionship."
The family's attorney said, "[The resort] has been cited for a violation, even after the incident. They used the wrong equipment, they didn't use a licensed electrician. They just did it in-house the cheapest way possible. They were negligent."
Though the wrongful death claim is filed by surviving family members, the court views the family as the victim's representatives. Georgia juries in wrongful death claims may consider the victim's life, age, health, business situation, activities and other facts relevant to the case. Jurors may also consider the victim's expected earnings during the duration of his working lifetime, his medical benefits or retirement/pension that would have been accrued, any expected inheritance he had not yet received and the victim's physical or mental suffering endured prior to death as a direct result of his injuries.
You should hire an experienced Clayton County wrongful death attorney if you will file a lawsuit on behalf of a family member who died due to another's negligence. Call the Shane Smith Law at 770-HURT-999 for a free consultation.
References: Barbara Liston, New York girl electrocuted at Florida mini-golf course, June 29, 2012 (last checked on Jan. 16, 2013).
Andy Campbell, Ashton Jojo Lawsuit: Family of Girl Killed by Electrocution at Mini Golf Course Seeks $27 Million, Huffington Post, Aug. 22, 2012 (last checked on Jan. 16, 2013).