San Diego, CA – The family of an 18-year-old filed a lawsuit against the City of San Diego, claiming the City’s negligence in failure to warn swimmers about a riptide led to their son’s death. The wrongful death suit was filed by Singleton Schreiber partners Brett Schreiber and Ben Siminou along with attorney Domenic Martini and co-counsel Evan Walker.
According to the complaint on June 14th, 2022, the victim Woodlain Zachee Prudhomme was swimming with a friend at San Diego’s Mission Beach. Lifeguards and other employees of the City of San Diego in charge of monitoring Mission State Beach were aware throughout the day of a rip current in the vicinity of Lifeguard Tower 16. However, they took no measures to warn the public about this dangerous rip current.
While swimming, Mr. Prudhomme was approached by a lifeguard on a jet ski who negligently instructed him to swim toward Lifeguard Tower 16. Mr. Prudhomme, unaware of the presence of the rip current, obeyed the lifeguard's instructions. He ultimately swam straight into the dangerous rip current and was dragged farther into the ocean by the current and began to drown, tragically disappearing beneath the waves.
“Had this young man been aware or warned of the threatening rip current, he would not have gone into the water in that area at all,” said Brett Schreiber of Singleton Schreiber. “The rip current created a foreseeable and substantial risk that these lifeguards could have warned the public about. This led to the wrongful death of Mr. Prudhomme as well as endangering the lives of many other beachgoers.”
“This is such an important public safety issue,” said Singleton Schreiber attorney Domenic Martini. “This young man lost his life at Mission Beach, one of the most popular beaches in all California. We’re bring this suit to find out how this could have happened right under the City lifeguards’ noses.”
The complaint details the City of San Diego as being charged with dangerous condition of public property, negligent undertaking as no hazardous conditions of the water were reported to the public, and wrongful death.
“A family has lost a son. That shouldn’t have happened. Period,” said attorney Evan Walker of The Law Office of Evan W. Walker. “The City of San Diego needs to admit to this family and to the public what it did and take full responsibility.”
About Singleton Schreiber
With over 300 employees and offices throughout the western United States, Singleton Schreiber has represented more than 26,000 victims of utility fires and has recovered approximately $2.5 billion in settlements and verdicts for its clients. The firm currently represents thousands of victims of the numerous fires in California, New Mexico, and Oregon. The firm’s dedication to obtaining justice for those impacted by toxic conditions and environmental hazards sets it apart from the competition. The firm is also a premier personal injury firm, obtaining top results for clients, including more than $100 million in verdicts in 2022.
