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Posted on 03/06/2003 11:17:32 PM PST by GalvestonBeachcomber
The city of Galveston and Galveston County have been accused of negligence in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the families of a child and a man who drowned along the Houston Ship Channel nearly two years ago.
Filed in the 10th Judicial District court in Galveston, the lawsuit claims the city and county were “grossly negligent” for not having warning signs or taking other safety measures to prevent the deaths of Cesar Barrios Jr., 6, and Herschel Hix Jr., 53.
The city’s legal department declined to comment. However, Don Glywasky, an attorney in the county’s legal department, said what happened was “regrettable and we have sympathy for the families.” However, he said the county doesn’t see liability.
Barrios and his sister, Giselle, who was 11 years old at the time, were swept away June 30, 2001, while walking in ankle deep water at the east end of Seawall Boulevard, said Virgil Yanta, the San Antonio lawyer who filed the lawsuit.
The children apparently were caught in an outgoing tide, officials said at the time. Hix, who was the executive director of a Galveston retirement community, died while trying to help Giselle, who survived. Hix was later awarded the prestigious Carnegie Medal for his efforts to save the girl.
Another man, Galindo Lucero, 35, also drowned while trying to save Barrios. Relatives of Lucero are not named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Yanta said he hasn’t been able to find any information that a lawsuit has been filed on his behalf.
The lawsuit also seeks damages on behalf of Giselle Barrios, claiming she suffered “psychic trauma” because of the tragedy. The lawsuit, filed before Judge David E. Garner, doesn’t specify the dollar amount of damages sought.
Dolores Hix, the wife of the deceased and a plaintiff in the case, resides in Richard-son, while the Barrios family lives in Wharton County.
A few days after the drowning of Hix, Barrios and Lucero, 8-year-old Christopher Collazo of Houston drowned in the same general area. He isn’t named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Wouldn't it be refreshing to see a lawyer with his hands in his own pockets?
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