The Haggard Law Firm’s Douglas McCarron along with co-counsel Mark Brumer, has secured a $2 Million policy limit settlement in a fatal drowning case against the City of Miami Beach.
Peniel Janvier drowned while visiting the Scott Rakow Youth Center. Surveillance footage from the pool clearly shows that the City of Miami Beach failed in its responsibility of protecting its bathers on the day of the incident.
Lifeguards have a vitally important function – to prevent dangerous incidents from occurring and to save someone that gets into trouble. Guards must be well trained, supervised and must constantly scan and “watch the water”. On the day of the incident, the Scott Rakow Pool was understaffed. No lifeguard supervisors were present. The Summer Camp was having its end of the year celebration, and the pool was extremely busy. As seen in the surveillance footage, there were countless campers that could never be described as “strong swimmers”. Despite this knowledge, only 2 of the 4 lifeguard chairs were utilized.
Additionally, the guards were not assigned “Zones of Responsibility” for their pool surveillance. Instead, each guard was responsible for scanning the entire pool. A well run and effectively managed pool requires that the guards understand exactly what area of the pool he or she must surveil. Lifeguards should be assigned a specific zone of responsibility for surveillance and these zones should be clearly defined as well. The City’s policy violates every published lifeguard standard.
The City’s “cell phone” usage policy could not be clearer. Lifeguards at the City pools were strictly prohibited from using their cell phone while on the stand. Moreover, lifeguards were prohibited from even having their cell phone on their person when on the stand. Despite this clear policy, an on-duty lifeguard was on his phone for the majority of his rotation. More importantly, the lifeguard was on his phone when Peniel was pushed into the pool. While he was drowning, the lifeguard was looking down at his phone. The lifeguard saw nothing and did nothing. While the children tried to help Peniel, the lifeguard played on his phone. Had the lifeguard simply done his job, Peniel would have been identified as a distressed swimmer and pulled from the pull within seconds.
“While the lifeguard’s actions were egregious, the management of the pool must also be scrutinized. The simple fact that the lifeguard was confident enough to brazenly play on his phone speaks volumes about the mismanagement of the pool. Not once did any supervisor or other City employee ever confront the lifeguard. ” says McCarron.
Policies that are not followed or enforced are useless. Had the “no cell phone” policy been followed and enforced Peniel would not have drowned. There was no argument to the contrary. Peniel was an extraordinary young man from an extremely close-knit family. His loss has been devastating to his mother, father and the rest of the family.
The City of Miami Beach agreed to a the $2 Million settlement($300,000 is payable pursuant to the sovereign immunity statute). The Haggard Law Firm will file a claims bill for approval by the Florida Legislature and the Governor to approve the balance of the settlement ($1.7 Million).
