"He was hospitalized fifteen days and alleged
further psychological injuries, including nightmares and a fear of
the ocean."
The WSL has moved to compel arbitration in its suit with
Alexandre Botelho, member of the Big Wave
Tour.
In February of this year, Botelho
sued the WSL, along with Bill Sharp (General Manager of the Big
Wave World Tour) and Scott Eggers (Safety Director of the Big Wave
World Tour) in California state court for injuries sustained during
the 2020 Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge. During the event, Botelho
was thrown more than 20 feet in the air when his jetski was
launched after trying to drive out of the impact zone.
Botelho landed on the ski, rendering him unconscious. He floated
for almost six minutes before being pulled onto the beach.
It took more than a minute for personnel to revive him.
He was hospitalized fifteen days and alleged further
psychological injuries, including nightmares and a fear of the
ocean.
Botelho alleged that the WSL “willfully and fraudulently”
misrepresented its safety measures, particularly in failing to hire
a rescue swimmer after promising surfers that an additional swimmer
would be on hand.
Botelho further claimed that the WSL failed to ensure necessary
safety measures, including working radios and a coherent emergency
strategy.
According to the complaint, surfers did not become aware of the
lack of adequate safety measures until the eve of the competition,
but still signed the competition agreement due in part to costs
associated with traveling, training, and perceived obligations to
sponsors.
On March 21st, the WSL filed its response and moved
to compel arbitration.
Calling the events, “an unfortunate accident” (reminding one writer of a “shark
incident”) the WSL alleged that Botelho actually had
access to the agreement, including the safety provisions, for
“almost three months prior to the Event.”
Further, they claimed that Botelho signed the agreement “four
days before the event was even greenlit.” Thus, Botelho “had months
to contemplate the terms of the agreement before actually putting
on a jersey and competing in the Event.”
The WSL further noted that there were four titles awarded after
the event: “Men’s Wave of the Day, Women’s Wave of the Day, Team
Champions, and the Commitment Award.”
According to the WSL, in apparently a nod to the adequacy of the
WSL’s safety measures, “after observing the quick and professional
response of the WSL’s safety team that day, the surfers made the
unprecedented decision to give the Commitment Award, not to any of
the competing surfers, but to the safety team.”
The WSL also claimed that Botelho had “received weekly payments
[of thousands of dollars] under the insurance policy the WSL
procured and paid for” and only filed the suit “on the eve of those
payment [sic] expiring.”
Arbitration would effectively shield the litigation from public
view.
If the court grants the motion, the resulting proceedings and
outcome would likely remain confidential.
More as the story develops.
