OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A man who became paralyzed after diving into a shallow private lake can move forward with a lawsuit against the community association and the family who invited him, but not the former property owners, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday.
Cole Hodson was paralyzed from the chest down on July 26, 2010, after diving into Willers Cove lake near Pilger, hitting an unexpected shallow area and breaking his neck. He was 18 at the time.
Hodson sued a friend and her parents, Bradley and Laura Taylor, who live on the lake and invited Hodson and several others for a day of boating and swimming. The lawsuit claims they were negligent for failing to warn lake users of shallow conditions, among other things.
He also sued the Willers Cove Owners Association and a couple who formerly owned of the lake. Hodson said the association failed to maintain sufficient water depth in the lake and accused the former owners of installing a culvert that led to a buildup of silt that made some spots in the lake dangerously shallow.
In late 2013, Washington County District Judge James B. Kube dismissed the lawsuit, saying the former owners had not been responsible for maintaining the lake for years before the accident occurred. Kube also found that Nebraska’s Recreation Liability Act shielded the Taylors and the association from liability.
Hodson appealed. On Friday, the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of the lawsuit against the former owners, saying they could not have reasonably foreseen any injury to Hudson.
However, the high court said the lower court was wrong to dismiss the case against the association and the Taylors.
Because the Taylors aren’t considered owners of the lake, the state liability shield law does not apply to them, the high court said, and ordered that Hodson’s negligence claims against them to proceed.
The Supreme Court also found that a jury should be allowed to determine whether the owners association knew or should have known of unsafe conditions in the lake.
The Taylors had no knowledge of any danger Hodson was in by diving into the lake, their attorney, David Woodke of Omaha, said Friday, and they will continue to fight the lawsuit.
“It’s my opinion that this decision is going to create confusion amongst developers, homeowners’ associations and lake owners in Nebraska to having guests on the premises,” Woodke said.
Attorneys for the Hodson and the association did not immediately return phone messages Friday seeking comment.
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