Coconut Grove Sailing Club and three of its camp counselors were being served a $10 million lawsuit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court on Monday after a July 10 incident in which a motorized boat operated by a 21-year-old counselor ran over 11-year-old camper Catherine Viteri, who was left “permanently disfigured,” according to attorneys.
The incident occurred during a Thursday afternoon swimming session during school vacation.
The complaint alleges alleges that the Coconut Grove Sailing Club entrusted a motorized vessel to a 21-year-old counselor, with inadequate training and oversight, along with gross negligence and a complete failure of supervision.
The lawsuit seeks damages exceeding $10 million for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lifelong disability.
“This case represents an inexcusable breakdown in the safety and supervision of children,” said Justin B. Shapiro, Trial Attorney at Leesfield & Partners in Miami. “It is unthinkable that the camp counselor who was in charge of protecting this child is the one who ran her over with a motorboat. The extent of negligence in this case is extraordinary, and we intend to hold the responsible parties fully accountable.”
In the accident report, completed Aug. 15 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), it indicated that the “Victim sustained a deep laceration to her right leg below the calf from a vessel propeller while she was in the water swimming.”
The report noted that the operator of the boat, a 2008 Ribcraft motorized vessel, had more than 100 hours of boating experience but between 10 and 100 hours on that specific type of boat.
According to the lawsuit, the boat operator “lost track of the number and location of his campers and literally ran over Catherine with the boat propeller. As a result, Catherine’s right leg is now permanently mutilated and dysfunctional.”
It took 35 minutes for two FWC officials to reach the accident site in Biscayne Bay, near the Coconut Grove Sailing Club. Viteri was transported to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
According to the incident report, the boat’s operator explained that he was ferrying a group of children to another docked boat, called Angler, between a swimming and sailing camp, and had idled alongside the starboard side of the green Angler, used for the swimmers.
“The operator was unsure of exactly how many children were on his dinghy but said there was between 4-6 children,” the report said.
The boat’s operator also said children were already swimming by the Angler and said that area was checked before pulling alongside it.
The case raises serious concerns about boating safety and supervision standards at youth summer camps across Florida and boating, in general.
Boating penalties in Florida have become harsher, thanks to the passage of several laws headed by State Rep. Vicki Lopez, including what’s known as Lucy’s Law (HB 289).
Established in 1946 in Miami, the Coconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC) is a non-profit sailing club offering US Sailing sanctioned “Learn to Sail” programs and is a member of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association.
In August, the family of a surviving victim in another tragic sailing incident in Biscayne Bay said they were suing the sailing camp and the company that owns the barge that crashed into the sailboat, killing three young girls.
Judd Rosen, who represents the family of a 9-year-old girl who survived the July 28 ordeal, said the lawsuit aims to answer more questions and to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
“We have the most beautiful waters in the world here; we also have the most dangerous for boating,” Rosen said. “Something has to change.”
The lawsuit claims Waterfront Construction Inc., the barge’s owner, along with the Miami Yacht Club and Youth Sailing Foundation, were “careless, reckless and negligent” and failed to take “adequate measures” to avoid the collision.