UK
The family and estate of a man who drowned last year in a swimming pool on the Las Vegas Strip have initiated a wrongful death lawsuit against the casino hotel.
Paul Nakashima from Burnaby, British Columbia, was in Las Vegas with relatives and friends during a weekend in June 2023 to mark his 60th birthday. What was intended to be a fun and soothing escape for the Canadians took a startling turn less than 24 hours into the long weekend when Nakashima was discovered unresponsive in the swimming pool of the Excalibur Hotel & Casino.
As stated in the lawsuit submitted to Clark County Court by Nakashima's estate and his siblings Sandra Waithe and Ruth Nakashima, the Nakashima group arrived at the Excalibur on Thursday, June 15, 2023. The following afternoon, Nakashima allegedly lost his footing and struck his head after stepping into a shallow part of a swimming pool.
The legal action asserts that the lifeguard present failed to attend to him following the event. At approximately 4:20 pm local time, visitors observed a man in the water with his head submerged. They quickly informed the lifeguard, who jumped into the pool and tried to save Nakashima.
A visitor who knew CPR attempted resuscitation on Nakashima, but it was unsuccessful. The man’s face was blue as EMT workers placed him in an ambulance and took him to the Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center.
Lawsuit Claims Carelessness
Nakashima was pronounced dead shortly after being admitted to the Spring Valley Hospital emergency department.
"Doctors told his family that he had been “deprived of oxygen” for at least 45 minutes and he was braindead.
Nagashima's family and estate are requesting a jury trial over claims that New Castle, LLC, operating as Excalibur, was careless in ensuring a safe pool environment and failed to respond properly to an incident. The legal action demands $15K in compensation from the Las Vegas casino for failing to adequately train its lifeguards, as mandated by the Aquatic Facility Regulations of the Southern Nevada Health District.
The event took place at the Excalibur Court Pool, the mushroom-shaped swimming area among the four pools on the casino's outdoor deck.
As stated in his obituary, Nakashima liked playing poker and traveling to various places. Besides Las Vegas, his preferred locations included Hawaii and Mexico. Nakashima served as a security officer at the Vancouver Convention Center.
Drowning Fatalities
The National Drowning Prevention Alliance reports that over 4,500 accidental drowning fatalities occur annually in the United States. The nonprofit states that drowning occurs “quickly and quietly” and can take place in just 20 to 60 seconds.
Drowning ranks as one of the leading four causes of accidental death. The majority of adult drownings take place in natural, open bodies of water like lakes, rivers, ponds, and oceans. Drowning incidents among adults in swimming pools frequently result from slips and falls or accidents that cause head injuries, medical crises like heart attacks, or impairment due to alcohol and/or drugs.
Nevada's drowning mortality rate of 1.45 per 100K individuals exceeds the national average of 1.31 per 100K individuals.
