Personal Injury Law

Mother's Wrongful Death Suit Ongoing

By Jeff Lowe, Esq.

A mother's wrongful death lawsuit against the Bowling Green Kampgrounds of America continues to unfold, with attorneys adding new parties to the lawsuit and taking numerous hours of depositions from witnesses for the defense and plaintiff alike.

Valen Humphrey has charged KOA with acting negligently when her son, Tristan Morrison, then 4, drowned in a pool on KOA property in June of 2009. Currently, Kampground Management Group LLC, Danny and Yvonne Goad, William Paul, Susan Von-Webb and Woodland Group LTD are all named as defendants to the case Humphrey is building on her son's behalf.

Kampground Management Group is operated by the Goads, who ran the facility in question as operators at the time of Tristan's death. Paul and Von-Webb are the owners of the actual property in question. Woodland Group is the company doing business as KOA, and is responsible for the payroll of employees at the park.

In a description that sounds horrifying, witnesses stated that the water in the pool was so dirty that no one had realized Tristan had drowned because they couldn't see his body at first. Someone had to feel for his body with their legs before he was recovered.

According to records, the facility has been cited on multiple occasions for failure to maintain safe conditions for visitors. This has included forced closures of the facility at times. A timeline assembled by the plaintiff shows that these violations are not only recent, either, but rather stretch back as far as 1987.

Humphrey and a relative had been organizing a birthday party for Tristan at the time of his death.

The defense appears to be making a rather jumbled attempt at its side of the case. On the one hand, they are claiming that Humphrey and/or Morrison were trespassing on KOA grounds at the time of the accident. Further, they argue that Humphrey shouldn't be able to file the suit at all because she is somehow unfit to administer her son's estate.

The case is likely to continue growing in scope as more details come to light.

Full post as published by Missouri Injury Lawyer Blog on March 23, 2011 (boomark / email).