Eight Indiana Departments Sued Over Ice Rescue Death
The parents of a teenager who drowned after falling through thin ice on Terrace Lake in Columbus, Indiana in December, 2010 have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against …. well… everyone: The State of Indiana, City of Columbus, County of Bartholomew, Columbus Regional Hospital Foundation, the Terrace Lake Lot Owners Association, and eight different police, fire, and water rescue departments.
The suit arose from an incident that occurred on December 21, 2010 when three teenaged boys were walking on the ice at about 6:30 p.m. They fell through the ice at a point about 200 feet from land. Two of the boys were rescued by an area resident who had a boat, but 16 year old Derek Lodestein, who was clinging to the side of the boat, was unable to hold on. His body was recovered at about 8:30 pm.
The suit alleges that the various fire and rescue departments failed to respond quickly enough, and that local responders were negligent for not having dive rescue capability locally. The Lodesteins’ allege that the departments “owed a duty to Derek Lodestein to respond in a timely and adequate manner” and were “negligent in the hiring, training, and retention of those members, officers, agents, and/or personnel involved in the negligent rescue and death”.
I wonder if they taught their son to have the common sense not to walk on the ice….
I wonder if they were voiceiferous in supporting the Fire Department when budgetary issues came up… or are they part of the” taxed enough already” crowd…
I wonder if they are going to sue the neighbor with the boat because he didn’t do enough?
Ron
I didn’t want to go there because I am sure the family is in alot of pain over their loss…
But seeing as how they have chosen to sue all those different parties bringing stress and pain to all who responded to that incident and must now defend their actions, and now that you brought it up – it does seem like these folks believe the rest of the world (local police and fire, the county, the state, a swiftwater rescue team, and even the dive team) owes them a duty… to be there just in case someone in their family does something stupid. That is an incredible burden that people expect of us – to protect them from their own stupidity.
This a case of sueing everyone under the sun and see what happens, Or do their arguments have merit?
Kevin
I suppose that is the big question – were there some screw ups… do their arguments have some merit?
The fact they chose to sue everyone tells me they really don’t have a good handle on any specific screw up. They just think “someone” should have done “something”… better, faster, more successfully…
Perhaps they feel the local FD should have had in-house ice rescue diving capability. IMHO that is an unrealistic expectation – particularly in this day and age. Two hours to assemble a regional/state team, get them to the scene, get them in the water and recover a body is actually pretty good.