No good deed.
We live in litigious times. There is no slight too benign, too non-existent for which to drag a friend, a foe, a service industry worker to court and attempt a financial bloodletting. A Maui hotel the latest in a long string, this particular story beginning all the way back in 2012 when a visitor to the Valley Isle approached an employee and asked for a pleasant beach he could enjoy with his family.
Though not hotel-adjacent, the employee suggested Big Beach south of Kihei and part of the Makena State Park and provided driving instructions.
Following them to a tee, the man, and his family, soon parked and found themselves gazing over the turquoise waters and natural beauty. The family went for a swim, the man did not but later changed his mind and joined them.
According to court documents, he bobbed for ten or such minutes then “as he began a half-walk, half-breaststroke towards the shore, a breaking wave struck him from behind, causing his head to strike the sandy bottom of the ocean.”
The incident led to permanent paralysis, a sad state of affairs to be sure, and if anyone, here, has ever been to Big Beach, he or she would know that it is favored by hell-seeking bodyboarders and bodysurfers. I, myself, had had enjoyable swims there with the gorgeousness of the water combining with its ferocity in creating a very fine time.
Many signs are posted on the beach, in fact, warning of this ferocity but the visitor does not remember seeing them and is pinning his troubles on the hotel itself, via lawsuit, declaring that the employee should have warned him of the dangers.
Is his case ironclad?
Windfall soon?
A golden wheelchair in the future?
More as the story develops.
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Beach grit said it was ultra hard, it feels like ive been screwed
The WSL told me to go to West Australia but after listening to their commentary team i impaled myself on a stalactite. Do they have a case to answer?
I could go to WA and reignite my alcoholism by being dragooned into a Real Privileged Winery Behind-The-Scenes tour … could I sue?
Everything’s upside down there.Stalagmite be on to something.
Surfwise, Big Beach is comparable to the stretch from Wedge to the Balboa Pier or some of the secret shore-pound nooks in Laguna. I’ve got pics of my teenage self pulling into dredging close-outs at Big Beach on my black Mike Stewart model Mach 7-7- a body-whomping kind of place.
Last time I was there, about 15 years ago on my honeymoon, I pulled some dude out of the water who was getting pounded. It’s heavy and the waves come up out of nowhere. But its a really beautiful place to be.
Warning signs everywhere, crashing surf. No ones fault but those with zero situational awareness.
Can wait for the developments of the dead story. Popcorn ready.
I’ll wait to upvote you, until I see how many other people upvote you.
Nice. Keep that up and one day you can be president
There’s that hippie guy in the parking lot of Big Beach with the long list of serious injuries and deaths on the side of his van with a bunch of text warning people to be careful. It’s a very dangerous heavy shore break, and a very pretty beach. Tons of tourists go there as directed by guidebooks etc.
Literally, once I dragged a fat lady out of that shore break who was sucked in just walking too close to the water. After lifeguards left. Moo-moo flipped up over her head, just getting pummeled, would have drown for sure.
The dynamic that is directing inexperienced people to Big Beach is stupid and thoughtless, and would be better if changed. Nobody on Oahu says yeah take your family down to Pipeline in January, have a picnic and catch a swim. No guidebook says that.
But the hotel and it’s employee shouldn’t be liable. There are signs all over the place at Big Beach saying danger don’t swim, people need to be responsible for themselves at some point.
I’ll do you one even better. Stay home, close the blinds, and watch videos of beach on Yurtoob. Then, they avoid cost, sunburn, and paralysis…..
I think that’s what most of America is doing, and then dying from obesity related causes. The shorey gets ya one way or the other
Moo moo lol
The sheer number of signs warning of death or injury should make it obvious. But they go largely unheeded by clueless tourists who think that nothing bad can happen on their picture perfect vacation.
“Ho, brah! You ok?”
Pretty sure there’s a lifeguard tower there. Glad he didn’t sue them.
Another “didn’t read the article”, Chas. This is the Hawaii Court of Appeal recently confirming the lower court’s prior dismissal of the case in the resort’s favor. So, this guy’s case has been thrown out and he just lost the appeal.
We just had the first decent finals day to chat about and we get another poorly thought piece about a man being paralyzed. Where are the priorities?
BG has the greatest research department in the business. Are you implying otherwise?
Fake Grit?
Reachgrit
Beach in my Sandwich Grit!
The only winners in this case will be the lawyers.
As a man who will retire comfortably and soon on the good will of a lady lawyer, I’ll take it.
Chas in fine form on this one. Thumbs up salute, assuming one is not paralyzed and can so give….which makes what Hawking was able to accomplish all the more impressive.
Well, if you watched Family Guy you’d know Hawking wasn’t really paralyzed. Jeez…..
He was a big banger