A Florida mother whose son wandered away from a Marriott hotel and drowned in a retention pond just outside of Walt Disney World has brazenly filed a wrongful death suit against the hotel and its management.
Tarina Akbari is seeking more than $50,000 in damages from Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, Vistana Management Inc, Vistana Development Inc and Vistana Spa Condominium Association Inc. for the July 18 death of her son, Rakim.
Officials with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said at the time that the three-year-old autistic boy wandered away from the Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas, and deputies found his body in a retention pond on the resort grounds a few hours later.
But Tarina now claims that the hotel allowed ‘dangerous conditions’ to persist at the Orlando property ‘thereby increasing the risk of drowning posed to children.
‘Defendant owed a duty to [Rakim] to exercise reasonable care in keeping its retention ponds in a reasonably safe condition for the safety of all persons lawfully on the premises,’ the lawsuit filed on Thursday by the Haggard Law Firm and Ben Crump on behalf of Akbari reads, according to Law & Crime.
‘The Defendant breached its non-delegable duty to maintain these premises in a reasonably safe condition,’ it continued, alleging that the ‘dangerous conditions existed for a sufficient period of time such that a reasonable person and/or corporation, its agents, servants and/or employees knew or should have discovered and corrected.’
Tarina Akbari, the mother of three-year-old Rakim Akbari, has brazenly filed a wrongful death suit against a Marriott hotel and its management
Orange County Sheriff’s officials said Rakim wandered away from the Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas, and deputies found his body in a retention pond on the resort grounds a few hours later
Akbari’s lawyers go on to claim that the retention pond was ‘only partially secured’ and had a ‘dangerous side slope, thereby increasing the risk of drowning posed to children on the premises.’
They allege the resort companies failed to comply with ‘mandatory regulations’ relating to the maintenance of the retention pond, including those set forth by the local water management district and Florida administrative code.
Resort officials are further accused of failing to maintain the retention pond in ‘conformity with the minimum design specifications that were submitted to and approved by the management district.’
The suit also calls out resort management for ‘failing to actively monitor the retention pond’ and ‘failing to warn residents and guests that the retention pond was dangerously not in compliance with mandatory safety regulations,’ Law & Crime reports.
‘Defendant, its agents, servants and/or employees, carelessly and negligently failed to have any procedures governing the maintenance, inspection and supervision of the area where the subject accident occurred,’ the lawsuit states.
‘As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s negligence, [Rakim Akbari] suffered severe bodily harm, which led to his death.’
Akbari claims in her lawsuit that the hotel and its management failed to maintain the retention pond and allowed ‘dangerous conditions’ to persist
Tarina is now seeking damages for ‘past and future mental pain and suffering,’ past and future loss of Rakim’s ‘support and services’ from the date of his death to his ‘statutory survivors,’ expenses of his funeral arrangements, loss of his ‘prospective net accumulations’ and loss of inheritable estate.
In a statement to Click Orlando, a spokesperson for Marriott Vacations Worldwide said it was unable to comment on active litigation.
But, the spokesperson said, ‘We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and send our sincere condolences.’
DailyMail.com has also reached out to the law firm representing the resort and its management for comment.
