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Torts Keyed to Dobbs
Catron v. Lewis
Citation:
712 N.W.2d 245 (Neb. 2006)Facts
The Plaintiff, Gaylen Catron, took his boat out on a lake in a state recreation area. The Plaintiff was pulling two of his daughter’s friends on tubes behind the boat, Samantha Rader and Aimee Stuart. The towropes pulling the tubes behind the Plaintiff’s boat were approximately 61 feet in length. After going around the lake a couple of times, the Plaintiff started to head to shore. The Plaintiff stated that as he was traveling east straight towards shore, he saw two jet skis heading north towards the right side of the boat. One of the jet skis was being driven by a 14 year-old, Defendant Skylar Panek. The jet ski was owned by Defendant Marvin Lewis.
The Plaintiff estimated that the jet skis were about 75 yards away when he first saw them and they were going around 35 to 40 miles per hour. The Plaintiff stated that he turned around to confirm that the tubes were traveling straight behind the boat. Stuart confirmed in her deposition that right before the accident, the ropes were taught and the tubes were traveling straight behind the boat inside of the wake.
Plaintiff in his testimony stated that he feared for his safety when he jet skis were aiming for his boat, not really because he was afraid they were going to hit his boat, but because he did not know for sure what they were doing. He further stated that he was able to make eye contact with Defendant Panek and the boy on the other jet ski before they turned and that he assumed they would slow down or turn to avoid hitting his boat. The Plaintiff did not make any evasive maneuvers. When the jet skis did turn, the Plaintiff feared that they were going to hit the tubes the two girls were on.
Defendant Panek did run into Rader, killing her. Testimony showed that the accident occurred about 61 feet from the back of the Plaintiff’s boat. The Plaintiff testified that he saw Defendant Panek’s jet ski hit the tube Rader was on and that he then saw Rader lying in the water face down in a pool of blood. The Plaintiff jumped in and swam over to her, and floated her to the boat. Rader was unresponsive. With help, the Plaintiff was able to get Rader back to shore.
Following the accident, the Plaintiff was diagnosed by a psychiatrist with major depression and anxiety disorder. The Plaintiff was unable to work for three months and was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and continued to take anti-depressants. The Plaintiff sued the Defendants for emotional distress.
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