A 49-year-old man died after suffering a medical emergency at the Elara resort near the Las Vegas Strip last year, and his widow is now suing the property and its operator, alleging staff never retrieved an on-site defibrillator that sat less than 100 feet from where he collapsed. Katina Robertson filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Elara and Hilton Grand Vacations Club in Clark County District Court, claiming the AED was never used during her husband David's crisis and that staff failed to properly direct emergency responders once they arrived.
According to the lawsuit, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Katina and David Robertson arrived at Elara at about 11:35 p.m. on March 13, 2025, after traveling to Las Vegas for a family trip. David's brother, Michael Robertson, had rented a suite for the couple's stay. After a trip to the restroom, David called Michael to let him know they had arrived, but the call cut short when, per the complaint, David experienced rapidly moving eyelids and his phone fell from his ear.
Katina then called Michael to report that something was wrong with David, the lawsuit states. As his condition worsened, Katina called 911 and yelled for help, while Michael searched the property for an AED but could not find one, according to the complaint. The suit alleges Elara staff failed to retrieve an automated external defibrillator located behind a lobby podium, and that the device was never deployed during the emergency.
Responders Left Standing in the Valet Area, Suit Claims
An unidentified man attempted to perform chest compressions on David Robertson as the situation unfolded, the lawsuit says. When emergency responders arrived, Michael Robertson allegedly found them standing in the valet area without direction from Elara staff and had to direct them to his brother himself, according to the complaint detailed by the Review-Journal.
David Robertson was later transported to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he died. The lawsuit alleges that Elara, Hilton Grand Vacations Club, and their agents took no immediate lifesaving action, calling his death an avoidable tragedy. The complaint further states that using an AED would have significantly increased his chances of survival.
Legal Duty and the AED Gap in Nevada Hospitality Law
Under Nevada Supreme Court precedent set in Lee v. GNLV Corp., innkeepers and property owners owe guests a legal duty of reasonable care to render emergency assistance and summon professional medical aid during a medical crisis, according to FindLaw. Nevada's Good Samaritan statute, NRS 41.500, shields bystanders who voluntarily use an AED in good faith from civil liability, but that protection does not extend to commercial property owners who already carry an existing duty of care, per West Coast Trial Lawyers.
State law complicates the picture further. Nevada statutes require AED placement, inspection, and staff training in public high schools, state buildings, and large airports, but private commercial hotels are not explicitly covered by that mandate, leaving AED deployment up to each resort's internal policy, according to a 2014 Nevada Legislature summary. That gap is central to the Robertson case: whether Elara staff's alleged failure to retrieve a device sitting less than 100 feet away, and their alleged failure to guide paramedics to the scene, amounted to a breach of reasonable care.
Every Minute Counts, Cardiac Experts Say
Time matters enormously in cases like this. A sudden cardiac arrest victim's chance of survival drops by 7% to 10% for every minute defibrillation is delayed, while immediate bystander CPR and early AED use can double or triple survival odds, according to American Heart Association data. Nationally, only about half of workplace employees can locate an on-site AED during an emergency, and bystanders apply one in just 13.9% of public out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, per American Red Cross research.
Hilton Grand Vacations has declined to comment on the lawsuit. A company spokesperson said Hilton Grand Vacations does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation, per the Review-Journal's reporting. The wrongful death suit seeks more than $45,000 in damages, a figure that functions in Nevada civil practice as a procedural jurisdictional threshold for Clark County District Court filings rather than a cap on what a jury could ultimately award. Katina Robertson's claims include damages for pain and suffering, lost wages, funeral expenses, and burial expenses.
Part of a Growing Pattern on the Strip
Elara operates as a 52-story, 1,200-plus-unit Hilton Grand Vacations property at 80 East Harmon Avenue, adjacent to Planet Hollywood and the Miracle Mile Shops. The resort originally opened in 2009 as PH Towers before its transition to Hilton Grand Vacations, according to background compiled on the property's history.
The Robertson case is not an isolated one. Hoodline previously reported on a similar suit accusing Caesars Palace staff of calling a rideshare instead of an ambulance for a guest in medical distress, and another lawsuit filed against The Venetian in March alleged staff obstructed outside medical providers trying to help a SEMA show attendee having a heart attack. A separate case from last September accused staff at Javier's restaurant inside Aria Resort & Casino of failing to retrieve an available AED after actor Michael Heslin collapsed there. Together, the filings point to a growing wave of civil litigation in Clark County District Court over how Strip-area resorts and venues respond when guests face medical emergencies on their properties.
