The court-appointed conservator of a Riverton boy sued the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Tuesday over a youth group boat-tubing incident in which the boy lost his foot.
Kelly Rudd, court-appointed conservator for the boy in the case, filed the complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming via his attorney Noah Drew of The Spence Law Firm.
The complaint, which also asserts claims that the boy’s sister suffered trauma for watching the boating incident, identifies both children by their initials only.
Rudd is asking for the church to pay the children damages, costs, interest, and other relief the court deems just.
The children “sustained irreparable and life-altering harm and damages,” the complaint alleges.
The church, which is headquartered in Salt Lake City but has wards in Fremont County, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Boysen
The two children and four other children went on a church boating trip on Boysen Reservoir on Aug. 10, 2022, the complaint says, adding that this was a “church-sanctioned event.”
A woman was pulling children on a tube behind the speedboat.
The boy and his sister sat in the back of the boat.
The woman told one of the children to feed out the rope for the tube, and the boy tried to help by releasing the rope.
The woman “suddenly and forcefully accelerated the speed boat,” the complaint alleges. “The abrupt acceleration caused the coiled towline tow (to) wrap around (the boy’s) left foot.”
The rope severed his foot, says the document.
The girl watched as her brother “screamed in agony,” says the complaint, adding that the boat engine became flooded with excess gasoline and the group was stranded on the lake.
As the driver panicked, the girl called 911.
The group paddled to shore to get to care, the document says, adding that the girl used a windbreaker to tourniquet the boy’s ankle to stop the bleeding.
A Life Flight helicopter took the boy to Banner Health in Casper, and he was later taken to Denver Health Hospital, says the document.
The boy’s foot could not be saved and was amputated.
The complaint says he’ll require lifelong care due to “catastrophic injuries.”
“The loss or amputation of a child’s limb is not an inherent risk of boating or inner tubing,” the complaint asserts. “The Church carelessly increased the dangers for the children on the boat … by failing to provide adequate training and instruction to its Young Men and Young Women group leaders.”
The complaint accuses the church of negligence.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
