Esther Nakajjigo was driving with her newlywed husband on their honeymoon in Arches when an open road gate was swung by strong winds into their rental car. The claim, served Oct. 22, is seeking more than $270 million in damages from the National Park Service. Michaud and his in-laws are asking a federal judge for $140 million. While much less than they were initially seeking, the family was clearly pleased with the results -- with attorney Zoe Littlepage calling the amount "the largest verdict from a federal judge in Utah history.". Esther Nakajjigo (credit: Ludovic Michaud) Nakajjigo, 25, was a Ugandan human rights activist and moved to Colorado in 2019 to attend the Watson Institute in Boulder. Newlyweds Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo and Ludovic Michaud visited the park in mid June. The family of a young woman who was killed by a swinging gate at Arches National Park has sued the park service over her death. The family of a womens rights activist who was decapitated in an accident on a trip with her new husband has sued the US government agency responsible for the park where she died. A woman who had married her husband only three months ago has died after a horror crash saw a car park gate swing through the couple's car and cut off her head. Ms Nakajjigo worked to improve education and rights for women and teenage girls in her home country of Uganda and advocated to reduce rates of teenage pregnancy. in the two-plus years since his wife, Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo, was hit and killed by an unsecured gate while the couple was leaving Arches National Park. The tragic accident is now the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit Michaud and Nakajjigo's family are pursuing, in which they argue that the U.S. Park Service was negligent and did not maintain . (Julie Jacobson | AP file photo) A Denver man has filed a $270 million wrongful death claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, against the National Park Service after a metal gate at Arches National Park collided collided with his car on June 13, killing his wife. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. By his verdict, Judge Bruce Jenkins has shown the world how the American justice system works to hold its own government accountable and greatly values all lives, including that of Esther Nakajjigo, a remarkable young woman from Uganda, Randi McGinn, the familys attorney said in a statement. The familys lawyer Deborah Chang said the gate struck the car so suddenly and was so well blended into the surrounding landscape the honeymooning couple had no chance of avoiding it. Ludovic Michaud, the husband of late human rights activist Esther Nakajjigo, has filed a $270 million wrongful death administrative claim against the National Park Service, according to a report by NBC News, following a June accident at Arches National Park near Moab. "For want of an $8 basic padlock, our world lost an extraordinary warrior for good," the claim continues. The couple was leaving a park parking lot to get ice cream when a metal traffic control gate swung into the road, piercing the passenger side of the couples rental car and severing Nakajjigos head. Nothing we can say makes up for your loss. One, Saving Innocence, depicted teenage girls from urban areas helping teen moms in rural communities go back to school. The French national said he and his wife, who had only been married for three months and lived in Denver, Colorado, had been on a hike and had lunch before driving out of the park. The Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The United States will pay family members of a Ugandan human rights activist killed in an accident at Arches National Park more than $10 million in. National parks begin to reopen across the country. He said he didnt deny Nakajjigo was an extraordinary person, but argued it was difficult to speculate what kind of work she would have gone on to do. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The United States will pay family members of a Ugandan human rights activist killed in an accident at Arches National Park more than . They had wanted three children. Nakajjigo married Denver man Ludovic Michaud in March 2020. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Later, his chin trembled as Nelson delivered the government's apology. "The National Park Service has, in fact, known for decades that an unsecured metal pipe gate creates an undetectable hazard and dangerous condition," the claim states. Ms Chang described the part of the gate that struck Ms Nakajjigo as being like a metal spear or a lance and hit the car in literally a split second. "On behalf of the family, we are very appreciative of the judge's attention to detail, the time he spent working on this, and for the value he put on the loss to this family of Essie," added Littlepage. IE 11 is not supported. Instead, Michaud met his wife's family -- who traveled to the States from Uganda -- for the first time just before the trial started. As the couple was leaving the park, gusts of wind swung the gate around rapidly, enough to slice through the passenger side door of the couples car, decapitating Nakajjigo as her husband sat feet away in the drivers seat. Get Toofab breaking news sent right to your browser! She met Ludovic Michaud in Boulder, Colorado, when she went there for a leadership accelerator program in 2019, and the two of them married in March 2020. Esther Nakajjigo's horrified husband was driving when a metal gate was whipped round in the wind and cut into the car where she was sitting and beheading her in Arches National Park in Utah, US. She was named Ugandas ambassador for women and girls. The gate narrowly avoided Michaud, who was left covered head to toe in his wife's blood. Its a fear of erasing her, I guess, when you use something that she bought or that she ate or that we did together.. ", In 2020, Ludovic Michaud was driving with his 25-year-old wife Esther Nakajjigo out of Utah's Arches National Park to get ice cream on June 13 when a metal gate swung into the car and cut her head off, according to a wrongful death administrative claim obtained by NBC News. Monday's closing arguments focused heavily on the differences in testimony made by several economic experts, two of whom projected that Nakajjigo would have earned at least $9 million in her lifetime and the third who estimated Nakajjigo would have made between about $750,000 and $938,000. Esther Nakajjigo had been visiting Utah's Arches National Park when she was killed by a gate caught in the wind. At age 17, Nakajjigo was recognized by the United Nations for her work for women, according to the claim. SALT . The family of a human rights activist killed in a freak accident at Utah's Arches State Park won $10.5 million in damages from the U.S. government. This photo was taken in the hours before a gate swung into the couple's car, killing Nakajjigo. Berndt also said her team can take into account only Nakajjigo's education and earning history at the time of her death, exclusive from the money she raised for charitable organizations. Estimated read time: 5-6 Throughout the trial, attorneys debated estimates of Nakajjigos earnings potential. Nakajigos family and Michaud are suing the U.S. government for negligence as well as negligent infliction of emotional distress on the part of Michaud, who had to witness the grisly scene. There have been gate accidents across the country, including another one on federal government property in 1980 in which a camper in California was impaled by a U.S. Forest Service road closure gate. FILE - Delicate Arch is seen at Arches National Park on April 25, 2021, near Moab, Utah. McGinn argued that the smaller projections were based on categories of evaluation not allowed for under Utah law. Additionally, Berndt said the plaintiffs can only speculate on what Nakajjigo might have done had she lived, and the court can't ignore that "in favor of dreams and potential.". Esther Nakajjigo and Ludovic Michaud at Arches National Park in eastern Utah. The federal trial began Monday in Utah, where the husband and family of Nakajjigo are seeking $140 million in damages from the U.S. government, arguing in a complaint that the national park was negligent and failed to properly maintain the gate. The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a prominent Ugandan human rights activist killed in Arches National Park in 2020. McGinn, representing Nakajjigos family, likened her to a nonprofit CEO for an American charity and said she would have likely made millions throughout her life. I didnt know who she was at first, Michaud, 26, told NBC News in his first interview since Nakajjigos death. The family of a Ugandan young girl child activist, Esther Nakajjigo who died in the United States of America (USA) have asked government to help them repatriate her body, to be accorded a decent burial. Theres a newsletter that went out to all the parks and the National Park Service that warned of this decades ago. When he inhaled the copper-tinged smell of blood, turned to figure out what it was and saw his beheaded wife. Esther Nakajjigo was a prominent Ugandan human rights activist who was killed in Utah's Arches National Park in 2020. Nakajjigo was a women's rights champion in her home country of Uganda; she founded a nonprofit community health center using her college tuition money, and created two reality TV shows centered around empowering women. The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a prominent . Just as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S., Michaud, a video streaming technology solution architect who is originally from France, and Nakajjigo decided they wanted to marry. deductible, Report a missed paper by emailingsubscribe@sltrib.comor calling801-237-2900, For e-edition questions or comments, contact customer support801-237-2900or emailsubscribe@sltrib.com. She was subsequently named Ugandas ambassador for women and girls. What happened during the 2023 Utah Legislature. The lawsuit was filed about a year after Nakajjigo was killed in June 2020, when wind apparently caused the unsecured, metal gate on the parks main road to swing around and strike her and her husbands car, decapitating her. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax In opening statements Monday in Salt Lake City, their attorneys said they were seeking $140 million (115m) in damages from the government accounting for Esther's earning potential.
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