As reported by the Peninsula Daily News, Tacoma-based lawyer, John Messina, is planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Olympic National Park, on top of the $10,022,700 sum totaled against the park so far in wrongful death and personal injury claims.
The deceased, Port Angeles resident B.B., was the victim of a fatal goat goring at the national park on October 16.
Messina said that the park is liable for the death of B.B. He stated, "
We are intending to file a wrongful death suit. Negligence is the basis.
Our goal is to seek justice in this case and wake up the park system."
Three others precede Messina's suit: one each from B.B.'s estate, S.C., his widow and J.H., his son.
Messina will allegedly be filing the new suit in Tacoma's Federal District Court.
Per Messina, the first three claims were filed on May 1, and served to the park's superintendent. Park spokesperson, Barb Maynes, refused to comment.
During a hike with his son and friend, P.W., a 370-pound mountain goat gored B.B. on the Klahhane Ridge. The attack resulted to his death, reports show, within five minutes.
S.C. said, "I feel like they weren't protecting people and the ecosystem, and I feel that on the day of the accident, they responded very poorly to our calls for help."
The mountain goat had a history of "aggressive behavior" per the Chief Park Ranger, C.S., and there are no reports suggesting that B.B. behaved in an aggressive manner prompting the animal to attack him.
The goat allegedly stood over B.B. for approximately thirty minutes, which prevented his son from coming to his aid, after severing B.B.'s artery.
S.C. said that the park was "very irresponsible" in their suggestion to throw rocks at the goat to ward him off.
The three wrongful death claims add up as follows: $5 million for the estate, $3 million for his widow and $2 million for his son. The personal injury claims, totaling $22,700 are for: counseling expenses, massage therapy, obituaries in the news, emergency room bills and funeral expenses.
Per P.W., the three person party had stopped for lunch on Switchback Trail when the goat approached them. He then lowered his head, circled the group, pawed at the ground and began to make bleating noises.
As they walked away, B.B. told the others to stay ahead while the goat hovered next to him. B.B. kept telling them to "keep going."
According to ranger reports, within another mile the animal gored B.B.
Rangers shot and killed the animal that afternoon, and necropsy revealed that the animal had been healthy.
A memorial service for B.B. was held at the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Center and attended by 350 mourners.
The park must respond to the claims by November 1.
Being killed in a park, or in any government-run facility, may be grounds for a lawsuit. Contact a wrongful death attorney if you have lost a loved one in a scenario similar to this one.