The family of the Florida man who was electrocuted last October in a shopping center fountain has reached an out-of-court settlement, but another person has now filed a lawsuit against the mall concerning the same incident.
Nathaniel Davenport, 45, was killed while attempting to rescue his children who were being shocked while wading in the Jupiter Harbourside shopping center fountain.
He and his friend Seth Kozak were watching their children frolic from the patio of a nearby restaurant when the kids began to get into trouble.
Both men raced to the fountain, and Davenport jumped in but was immediately shocked and collapsed. Kozak managed to snag a child from the water, and a bystander got the electricity shut off from the fountain.
The children and Kozak made it out injured, but basically OK, but Davenport was pronounced dead at the hospital, with electrocution listed as his cause of death.
Davenport’s wife filed a lawsuit against the Harbourside shopping center and its management company. In March, the Davenport family’s attorney said the groups had reached an amicable and confidential settlement.
Now, an additional lawsuit has been filed against the shopping center. According to court documents, Skylar Sparks was a bystander at the time that the electrocution took place. He heard cries for help and rushed to the fountain where he found Davenport on his back in the water and saw others experiencing injury, which he later learned was electrical shock. Sparks entered the fountain to help and began experiencing electrical shock himself.
Court documents report that the shopping center failed to use a competent, licensed electrician to service and repair the fountain’s electrical system because the light fixtures and electrical components were negligently maintained, the system was not grounded, and a ground-fault circuit interrupter was not used, among other failures.
Spark’s lawsuit states that he now has permanent injuries, disability, and disfigurement, and has incurred medical expenses. He seeks damages and demands a jury trial.
Fountain at the Jupiter Harbourside, Jupiter Park Florida.
