Iowa to pay $2.1 million to Ohio mother
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April 15, 2012
Des Moines, Iowa: The state of Iowa has agreed to pay $2.1 million dollars, in addition to taking responsibility for a lien of a reported $1.7 million, to a woman whose son suffered injuries at a camp administered by the University of Northern Iowa.[1]
10-year-old Jermon Griffon was attending Camp Adventure in Germany in 2003; while on a visit to a public pool camp counselors lost track of Jermon. He was eventually found at the bottom of the pool and pulled out by German students. He suffered brain and spinal injuries as a result, was wheelchair bound, and subsequently died in 2006 while undergoing a surgery associated with the injuries.[1] Camp Adventure is a program that allows University of Northern Iowa students to administer camps for children of U.S. military personnel around the world.
Vinnell Griffen, Jermon's mother and an Army sergeant, filed a lawsuit against the University of Northern Iowa following the incident. On the basis of the Iowa Tort Claims Act, which was ruled to exclude actions outside of U.S. borders, a judge initially dismissed Griffen's suit. However, Griffen and her attorney pressed on. The suit reached the Iowa Supreme Court in 2009, and the justices again ruled in favor of the state stating that, "state law did allow lawsuits against state employees for injuries that happen in other countries."[1] Despite the rulings, however a settlement was reached in February of this year heading off a criminal trial that was to start that month.[1]
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