The mother of a 3-year-old boy found dead earlier this year in a Florida resort’s retention pond has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the resort.
Tarina Akbari’s lawsuit names Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, Vistana Management, Inc., Vistana Development, Inc. and Vistana Spa Condominium Association, Inc. as defendants, WKMG reports.
Akbari’s son, Rakim Akbari wandered away from his family at the Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas in Orange County on July 18 and was found dead in the pond later that day, as CrimeOnline reported. The boy had autism.
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of negligence, saying they failed “to exercise reasonable care in keeping retention ponds in a reasonably safe condition for the safety of all persons” at the resort.
The suit claims the pond where the boy was found was only partially secured and had a dangerous side slope that increased “the reisk of drowning posed to children.” The defendants also failed to monitor the detention pond, commission routine inspections of it, or maintain it “in conformity with te minimm design specifiations that were submitted to, and approved by the water management district.”
