Alonso Guillen v. Pasadena Independent School District
A 2017 lawsuit was filed by the family of Alonso Guillen, a 31-year-old man who died while attempting to rescue people during Hurricane Harvey. The family claimed that the Pasadena Independent School District failed to open its storm shelters to the public during the storm, and that the district did not provide adequate resources to help those affected by the hurricane. The lawsuit seeks damages and changes to the district’s emergency response plan.
According to news reports, the case was settled in 2019 for an undisclosed amount. The school district denied any wrongdoing in the settlement agreement.
Florida State University v. Florida Power and Light
The Florida State University filed a lawsuit in the Second Judicial Circuit Court in and for Leon County, Florida. The lawsuit alleged that FPL was negligent in its response to Hurricane Irma, which caused widespread power outages in the Tallahassee area and on FSU’s campus. The lawsuit claimed that FPL failed to adequately prepare for the storm and failed to restore power to the campus in a timely manner, resulting in significant economic losses for the university.
The the lawsuit was settled in 2019, with FPL agreeing to pay FSU $10 million in damages.
Readings:
A State-by-State Comparison of Occupational Electrical Fatalities
