A tragic electrical malfunction at Harbourside Place in Jupiter, Florida, which resulted in a man being fatally electrocuted, has led to his family filing a lawsuit against the facility. Nate Davenport, aged 45, was attempting to save his son from the electrified waters of a fountain when he was struck down on October 22, prompting his bereaved family to seek justice. According to WPTV, attorney Scott B. Smith who represents the Davenport family, the 74-page lawsuit includes charges of negligence and emotional distress that led to the fatal incident.
The lawsuit, which demands over $50,000 in compensatory damages for the late Davenport's widow, Amy, and his four children as well as outlining the scope of their mental pain and suffering it was filed on Wednesday, and Harbourside Place has since responded with a statement of sympathy and a reaffirmation of their ignorance regarding the fountain's hazardous condition, stating they had no knowledge of any problems, as reported by CBS12. They claimed, "Our first concern continues to be with the family as they go through and deal with this tragic loss...We are confident that the true facts will become known during the legal process."
The Town of Jupiter Building Department conducted their own investigation into the electrocution, revealing that light fixtures within the fountain were not up to code and were leaking electrical voltage, adding weight to the lawsuit's claim that Harbourside Place shirked its non-delegable duty to maintain a safe environment. This discovery echoes the family's lawsuit assertion that Harbourside Place and associated defendants failed to ensure the safety of their premises, directly leading to the incident, as detailed in the investigation findings.
Amy Davenport and her children are not only mourning the loss of a husband and father, but are, by the family's account, haunted by the psychological aftereffects of the incident Harbourside Place representatives insisted that had they been aware of the fountain's electrified state, they would have acted, yet the town's findings suggest a level of negligence that the lawsuit attributes to a failure in responsibility by the establishment the family's ongoing distress is described in the lawsuit, as they face a future without Nate's "companionship, love, guidance, support, services, instruction and protection," for what it says will be the "remainder of their lives".
