A judge tossed the suit earlier this year saying the county's responsibility to post warning signs didn't include private property
A New Jersey woman whose husband drowned in Hawaii seven years ago reached a $20,000 settlement in her negligence suit. (Ed Murray/The Star-Ledger) A Hasbrouck Heights woman whose 40-year-old husband drowned off the coast of Hawaii on their honeymoon seven years ago has settled her lawsuit against the county for $20,000.
Seven months after a judge dismissed Catherine Sneyers' negligence suit, Hawaii County agreed to the payment after she appealed the court's decision, according to a report on WestHawaii.com.
Edward R. McCarthy-Slaughter and his wife were snorkeling about 100 yards off the shore Punalu'u Beach Park in Ka'u when they became separated due to high surf, police said in a news release at the time. While Sneyers managed to swim back to the north side of the bay, rescuers didn't locate McCarthy-Slaughter for 40 minutes.
CPR attempts failed and McCarthy-Slaughter was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Sneyers argued in her suit that the county was responsible for posting surf warning signs in the area. Sneyers claimed the county had posted other signs there telling beachgoers not to take sand from the beach and to keep a safe distance from turtles.
The lower court judge had agreed that the county had a duty to warn beachgoers of dangerous conditions at the beach, but said that responsibility stopped at property lines.
The New Jersey couple entered the water near a concession area, which is not county property, the report said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
