Personal Injury Law

Illinois Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in Teacher?s Drowning on the Vermillion River

The executor for Jennifer H. Wehling?s estate is suing Vermillion River Rafting and cement company Buzzi Unicem for her Illinois wrongful death. The 36-year-old school teacher died last September while rafting on the Vermillion River.

The tragic accident happened on September 25 when Wehling and two friends were thrown from their raft into the churning waters under a low-head dam on property owned by Buzzi Unicem. She drowned and was later pronounced dead at Illinois Valley Community Hospital. Her two friends, Timothy Ruse, and Janelle Veseling, survived the rafting accident. They were later charged with operating a watercraft while under the influence of alcohol.

According to the Illinois wrongful death lawsuit, as owners of the part of Vermillion where the drowning accident occurred, Buzzi Unicem owed a duty of care to others to manage the damn area and the waterway. The complaint contends that the rafting company was negligent and careless for failing to properly warn the three rafters that the water conditions off the damn were dangerous.

Wehling, a first-great teacher, was also the mother of two children. She, Ruse, Veseling, and four other people were part of a group that had rented two rafts.

Illinois Wrongful Death
If your loved one died while engaged in an activity that was under a certain party?s supervision or watch, you may have grounds for filing a Chicago, Illinois wrongful death lawsuit. The liable party or parties do not need to directly have caused the death, but they may have been negligent in failing to act in a manner that could have prevented the death from happening.

Lawsuit filed in Vermilion River drowning death, The Times, June 4, 2010

Teacher drowns, 2 others OK after rafting accident, WBBM Radio, June 2009

Related Web Resources:
Vermillion River Rafting

Buzzi Unicem

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on June 05, 2010 (boomark / email).