A couple of weeks ago in this Atlanta GA Premises Liability Law Blog, we discussed the tragic electrocution of an 11-year-old girl at a putt-putt course in Orlando. The young girl was vacationing with her family late last month, and she was electrocuted when she reached into a small pond on a resort’s course to retrieve a golf ball.
Officials have now determined that the pond was electrified because the wrong electrical breakers had been installed in the pond. As we previously mentioned, this case involves serious premises liability issues.
The resort at which the 11-year-old girl was electrocuted is reportedly owned by Holiday Inn Club Vacations. Hotel and resort owners are generally responsible for maintaining safety on their property. When guests are injured or killed in accidents on resort properties because of negligence or unsafe conditions, the victim or the victim’s surviving family members have a right to sue for compensation for funeral expenses, pain and suffering and wrongful death.
As we mentioned in the earlier post, no amount of compensation will lessen the unimaginable anguish that the family of this young girl must be feeling. It will only help to hold the responsible party accountable and lessen financial burdens that result from the loss.
In two very unfortunately similar incidents in St. Louis earlier this month, an adult and two children were recently electrocuted in Lake of the Ozarks, potentially due to faulty electrical dock wiring. All three of those victims also died from their injuries.
In those cases, it will be necessary to determine whether a property owner or another party’s negligence led to those senseless and tragic deaths.
Source: Orlando Sentinel, “Girl who was electrocuted while playing mini gold laid to rest,” Susan Jacobson, July 4, 2012
Source: STLtoday.com, “Woman from St. Louis area electrocuted while swimming at Lake of the Ozarks,” Kim Bell, July 9, 2012