19 Connected to Popular Arctic Swim Party Sued for Wrongful Death
Posted on Feb 15, 2011 1:45pm PST
The parents of Tracy Hottenstein, a young woman that died of hypothermia in 2009 after attending a Polar Bear Plunge in Sea Isle City, have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Camden for wrongful death, as reported by the Press of Atlantic City.
The lawsuit's timing - just one week before the 2011 Polar Bear Plunge expects to have 35,000 visitors - will allow police and homicide investigators to speak to people that may have been witness to the 2009 incident.
Nineteen defendants are named in the 39-page lawsuit filed by Hottenstein's parents, Charles and Elizabeth, of Telford, Pa. Included are the city, police, medics and some of their daughter's friends.
Hottenstein, a marathoner and pharmaceutical representative, while intoxicated, fell into the bay and succumbed to the cold. The lawsuit claims that the city was too permissive in allowing visitors alcohol during the event.
The lawsuit reads, "The (city) commissioners knew that public drunkenness and public alcohol consumption, both violations of city ordinances, occurred at Polar Bear Plunge events."
Hottenstein, who wasn't at the event to participate that day, was seen leaving the Ocean Drive Bar and Restaurant on the 3900 block of Landis Avenue at approximately 2:15 a.m.
Five hours later a passerby spotted Hottenstein a couple of blocks away from the restaurant, on the muddy banks of the bay, near 42nds Place.
Some Sea Isle City residents suspected foul play at the time and still do. Others, including Hottenstein's parents, have accepted that it was an accident, as concluded by the Southern Regional Medical Examiner.
Authorities believe that Hottenstein may have fallen off a dock - as she had fractured three of her ribs when her body was located.
The lawsuit holds the Polar Bear plunge event itself liable and states, "The Polar Bear Plunge is a state-created danger ... for encouraging people to expose themselves to frigid air and water, risking hypothermia."
Of the 19 defendants, also named are the owners of the two bars Hottenstein visited the night of her death, a Sea Isle couple that had Hottenstein over for dinner and the man that she was with, Michael Miloscia, of Sewell, N.J.
Miloscia may have been the last person to see Hottenstein alive.
When Hottenstein's friends opted to leave the Ocean Drive restaurant to go home, Hottenstein elected to stay behind with Miloscia. The document states, "Mr. Miloscia assured the friends that he would take care of Ms. Hottenstein and she stayed with Mr. Miloscia and continued to be served alcohol, some of which he purchased for her. Michael Miloscia as the 'last friend' with Ms. Hottenstein failed to ensure that she got home safely after leaving the bars in an intoxicated state."
The city is named in the suit for not maintaining the public docks by 42nd Place.
The AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, and a physician that pronounced Hottenstein dead, were also named.
Both the Sea Isle City Police Department, and individual officers, were named for not permitting rescue workers to perform hypothermia treatment when Hottenstein was found without a pulse.
And rescuers were also named, for not intervening the police investigation to provide the lifesaving hypothermia treatment that Hottenstein's parents contend would have revived their daughter.
Lynanne B. Wescott, the parents' lawyer from Philadelphia, said, "I think a lot of people have culpability. A lot of mistakes were made at many places along the line. Someone could have intervened and they didn't."
The medical examiner said that that Hottenstein's intoxication - police have stated that her blood-alcohol was higher than the .08 legal driving limit - contributed to her death.
Hottenstein's image will be circulated on fliers at this year's event, in what police hope will trigger witnesses to the 2009 event to come forward with new evidence.
If you have lost someone you love in a wrongful death scenario, contact a personal injury lawyer from our directory as your case may be awarded monetary compensation.