Losing a child before their time is something no parent should ever have to experience. Sadly, it happens often and just as often wrongful death lawsuits are filed as a result. For example, the family of a five-year-old boy who drowned while at a summer camp recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The tragic accident occurred in July 2017 at Camp Cricket at the Cochran Mill Nature Center. According to the lawsuit and police reports from the time, the boy, Benjamin ‘Kamau’ Hosch III, “was missing for 45 minutes before anyone realized he was gone.” His body was eventually found in a pond by police who had shown up to help search for him. An autopsy report revealed that he had drowned.
Losing a child before their time is something no parent should ever have to experience. Sadly, it happens often and just as often wrongful death lawsuits are filed as a result. For example, the family of a five-year-old boy who drowned while at a summer camp recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The tragic accident occurred in July 2017 at Camp Cricket at the Cochran Mill Nature Center. According to the lawsuit and police reports from the time, the boy, Benjamin ‘Kamau’ Hosch III, “was missing for 45 minutes before anyone realized he was gone.” His body was eventually found in a pond by police who had shown up to help search for him. An autopsy report revealed that he had drowned.
The lawsuit itself was filed against the summer camp and accuses the camp of “operating without a license for more than twenty years.” It also states, “The failure to properly supervise Kamau proximately caused the catastrophic injuries sustained by Kamau and ultimately his death.” When discussing the incident and the decision to file the lawsuit, Benjamin’s father said:
“I’m thinking about all the other kids that are out there at camps, at places where they may not have licensed or they might not have proper supervision. We’re here to make it known that those places have to stop doing business. It has to be about the safety of all the children.”
How did the drowning happen, though? Where were Benjamin’s supervisors? Well, according to the lawsuit, Benjamin and 13 other campers, along with three camp staff members, went for a hike and had lunch on July 21 near water. Unfortunately, the boy “somehow wandered away unnoticed by the adults with his group.” Nearly 45 minutes went by before he was found, unresponsive, in the water. He passed away at the hospital.
The recent lawsuit comes just as individuals have begun being charged in the child’s untimely death. For starters, so far two people have been indicted and “are facing criminal charges in Benjamin’s death.” One of those individuals is “the president of the board of directors who oversaw the nature center where Benjamin attended camp, and a camp director, who was there when Benjamin actually drowned.”
The board president, Maribeth Wansley, was actually “charged with one misdemeanor of reckless conduct for failing to operate an early care and education program without a license issued by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning,” which violates state law. Terri Clark, the director of the camp, was charged a week ago with reckless conduct and involuntary manslaughter because Clark was the one in charge of supervising the child when the fatal accident occurred, according to Fulton County Superior Court.
Both Wansley and Clark have so far pled not guilty to the charges, and Clark’s bond was set at $10,000.
Sources:
Family of 5-year-old who drowned at summer camp filed wrongful death lawsuit
Family of boy who drowned at camp files wrongful death lawsuit
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