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The 16 year old plaintiff was rendered a quadriplegic after diving into shallow water in a designated swimming area of a municipal beach. The plaintiff had taken a running start into the water to make a shallow surface dive, when he unexpectedly hit bottom, which had been unevenly built up each year by the municipality.
A jury set damages at $15 million, reduced to reflect comparative fault. New York State’s Appellate Division set aside the verdict. The Beltz firm pursued an appeal to New York State’s highest court. That court agreed with plaintiff’s arguments that it was foreseeable that a diver such as plaintiff, who was a minor on his first visit to the lake, would attempt a dive in an area where there was no sign prohibiting diving and where there was evidence that many divers had done surface shallow dives in the same area. The $15 million verdict was thus reinstated.
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