Resort Blamed for Patron’s Drowning Death

(CN) - The widow of a Texas man who drowned while snorkeling at a Mexican resort claims in a lawsuit that the staff negligently served her husband copious amounts of alcohol beforehand, and then failed to take steps to save his life.

In a complaint filed in Miami-Dade County, plaintiff Tina Pham says that in the 2013, her family purchased an all inclusive vacation package at the Moon Palace Gold & Spa Resort in Cancun, Mexico.

Before making the purchase, Pham says, she and her husband, Nam Van Pham, read reviews about the resort on its website and on Expedia, and they relied on such information.

She says that the resort advertised and marketed its facilities as an "inclusive luxury resort," which featured all you can drink top shelf alcohol and all types of beach and water activities, including snorkeling.

"Throw your cares away" and "leave the outside and surrender to our all-inclusive paradise" were some of the slogans the resort used to promote itself to the public.

Pham claims she and her husband made the decision to visit the Moon Palace Resort based on these representations, and on the fact that the property had a "long stretch of rich Caribbean sand" from which guests could perform water sports.

"No mention was made in the marketing materials presented by the defendants or Expedia of the terrible truth of this Mexican resort: that previous vacationers had disappeared, drowned, been sexually assaulted, been beaten, strangled, and left naked in a sewer at the resort," Pham says.

Pham says her family arrived at the resort on July 24, 2013, and over the next few days resort staff plied her husband, an alcohol addict, with numerous alcoholic beverages. Due to his obvious intoxication he started to exhibit erratic and unsteady movement while seated, and was slurring his speech, she says.

Pham says that on July 26, 2013, her husband was again served multiple alcoholic beverages, and then simply allowed to go off and snorkel with his stepdaughter and a friend.

Pham claims that in spite of her husband's obvious intoxication and the danger he posed to himself, the resort staff did nothing to prevent him from entering the water.

"After being served to excess, decedent entered the water and quickly found himself in distress. Decedent, obviously in fear and panic, yelled repeatedly for help," the complaint says.

Pham says that no lifeguards were present to help her husband, and none of the resort's employees made an effort to assist him; even though he was clearly in distress.

Nam Van Pham, who was 45 years old, drowned.

According to the complaint, two American tourists on a jet ski retrieved the body, and brought it back to shore where his family was waiting in panic.

Tina Pham seeks compensatory damages on claims of wrongful death, negligence and vicarious liability.

She is represented by Thomas Scolaro of Leesfield Scolaro P.A. in Miami, Fla.

Representatives of the resort declined to comment on the pending litigation.

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