Confidential Settlement – Young Father Dies a Hero Trying to Save a Drowning Child

One evening in February 2013, a 30-year-old young father and his girlfriend were returning to the apartment complex where she resided. When the couple exited the vehicle, our client heard the desperate cries of a mother, pleading for someone to help her son, and he noticed a large crowd gathered by the lake. When our client approached the lake, he saw the tragic sight of a young boy drowning. Without hesitation, our client quickly jumped into action and entered the frigid water in attempt to save the five-year-old boy. After trying to save the boy for about 10 minutes, our client, knowing he was unable to continue, took his final breath and submerged himself into the water so that he could lift the child as high as possible in hopes that the young boy could be saved. Unfortunately, both our client and the young child died. Our selfless young client spent his last breaths trying to save a child who was a stranger to him, leaving behind a family, including his beloved son who was just six years old at the time.

This was an avoidable tragedy. The apartment complex advertised their complex as “lakeside living” and featured a large manmade lake in the center of the complex that was around 20 feet deep. Though more than 50 percent of the residents at the apartment complex had children, there were no warning signs, no barriers around the lake, and no lifesaving equipment was available near the lake. The lake had also already proven to be dangerous, as several other drowning deaths had occurred in it prior to this horrible accident. Had the apartment complex taken the appropriate precautions, it is likely that both our client and the young boy would still be alive to this day.

Our attorneys worked tirelessly to ensure that this grieving family got the justice they deserved. We originally filed this action in the Common Pleas Court of Franklin County, but were able to avoid the need for an emotionally challenging trial due to our team’s dedicated work. While no amount of money can ever be enough to account for the loss of a family member, we were successful in reaching a settlement that satisfied our client’s family and gave them some closure.