Vous pouvez modifier vos choix tout moment en cliquant sur le lien Tableau de bord sur la vie prive prsent sur nos sites et dans nos applications. The metal gate at Arches National Park, normally secured with a lock, was left untethered. FILE Delicate Arch is seen at Arches National Park on April 25, 2021, near Moab, Utah. 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. In his ten-page verdict, U.S. District Court Judge Bruce Jenkins said the government admitted fault and apologized for Nakajjigos death. SALT . Ms Nakajjigos husband said his wifes death was the worst thing I hope I will ever see. What if they had gone on a different day, or left at a different time? 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.". Updated: Jan 31, 2023 / 03:49 PM MST. Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was driving around the stunning Arches National Park in Utah, US, in 2020 along with her husband Ludovic Michaud when the unthinkable happened. They argued that had employees installed the gate properly and secured it with an $8 padlock, Nakajjigos death could have been prevented, This decision serves as a reminder of the importance of proper maintenance and safety measures in our national parks, so as to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, Michaud said in, on Monday. Instead, the Utah park became the site of a horrific accident that killed her. In pink tops and white pants, women celebrate free period products becoming available in Utahs state buildings, Proposal to boost Utah bar licenses gets smaller with another round of cuts by lawmakers, Moab, Park City cry foul as Utah lawmakers target rules for vacation homes. Elizabeth Chuck is a reporter for NBC News who focuses on health and mental health, particularly issues that affect women and children. He spoke, too, about the difficulty of sending his wife's body to Uganda in a cardboard box; how only her hands, one of them broken, were visible at her funeral; and how he moved to a new apartment after the accident, unable to bear the reminders of the life he'd shared with Nakajjigo. National parks begin to reopen across the country. Her husband, Michaud, is seeking $240 million in damages from the National Park Service, while Nakajjigo's family is seeking $30 million. 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. Credit: AP FILE - Delicate. It impaled their car and decapitated Nakajjigo. Nakajjigos remains were flown back to Uganda in August. Instead of planning their future together, Michaud is now processing the trauma and grief of Nakajjigos gruesome death and hoping the lawsuit his attorney plans to file will save other families from experiencing what he did. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her husband in Denver, where she moved to attend a leadership course on a full scholarship. The claim alleged that had park employees used an $8 padlock to secure the gate from moving in the breeze, it could have avoided the victim being "needlessly decapitated.". Newlyweds Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo, 25, and Ludovic "Ludo" Michaud, 26, were driving to get ice cream during a camping trip June 13 when a metal gate blew closed in strong winds and sliced . On Monday, a federal judge in Utah ruled that the. The National Park Service did not respond to repeated inquiries from NBC News, nor did Arches National Park Chief Ranger Scott Brown. The gruesome nature of Nakajjigo's death and the fact that she was a renowned Ugandan women's rights activist drew widespread attention to the case. Esther Nakajjigo was killed at Arches National Park in 2020. Courtesy of. "We want you to know, on behalf of the United States, this accident and Essie's death was the responsibility of the United States," Nelson told Michaud. What if he hadn't suggested the trip to Arches? Mail that Nakajjigo has continued to receive after her death has been a stark reminder of the life they should still be enjoying together. 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 damages, a federal judge ruled Monday. 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. First published on November 12, 2020 / 2:34 PM. A newlywed Denver couple's road trip to Arches National Park in Utah this summer ended in . What awaited them there was as awful as it was unthinkable. On Monday, a federal judge ruled Ludovic Michaud, the husband of Esther Nakajjigo, will receive $9.5 million, while Nakajjigo's mother and father were awarded $700,000 and $350,000, respectively, per the Salt Lake Tribune. sltrib.com 1996-2023 The Salt Lake Tribune. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 'Shadow pandemic': Women, girls bear unequal share of Covid-19 burden, U.N. official warns, National parks begin to reopen across the country. Attorneys representing the U.S. commended her work, yet noted her most recent job was working at a restaurant making $15 per hour. Donate to the newsroom now. Esther Nakajjigo and Ludovic Michaud at Arches National Park in eastern Utah in the hours before a gate swung into the couple's car, killing Nakajjigo. The gate narrowly missed Michaud, who was driving. The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a prominent . Picture: Handout The family of a women's 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. 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 . Its a fear of erasing her, I guess, when you use something that she bought or that she ate or that we did together, he said. 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. A lot of things remind me of her, Michaud told the. The trial gave me and Essies family members an opportunity to tell Essies beautiful story, and it was so important to me to have the chance to stand up and speak for this amazing woman.. 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 damages, a federal judge ruled Monday. 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. Attorney Randi McGinn, representing Nakajjigos family, on Monday asked the family to leave when he described the death in gruesome detail. He and his wife, Esther Nakajjigo, who had moved to Colorado from Uganda, went to Utah as a welcome break from being quarantined. She was named as Ugandas ambassador for women and girls and received an award from the United Nations after she used her university tuition money to start a non-profit community centre that offered free healthcare to girls and women aged 10 to 24. According to the official statement from Wilson Jaga, the communications head for the office of the Ugandan Women and Girls, Nakajjigo was hit by a metallic gate of the Arches National Park due. The United Nations Population Fund awarded her a Woman Achiever Award," the claim states. Theres a newsletter that went out to all the parks and the National Park Service that warned of this decades ago. Michaud was the last plaintiff witness in the civil trial over the June 13, 2020, death of his wife, Esther Nakajjigo. 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. He smiled at some points as he shared photos and memories of happier times affectionate birthday cards, silly nicknames, meals cooked together, the rose petals Nakajjigo arranged into the shape of a heart with an "I" and a "U" on either side. The claim, served Oct. 22, is seeking more than $270 million in damages from the National Park Service. I really wanted to show her Arches, he told Fox 13. According to the claim, Michaud, of Denver, and Nakajjigo, a womens rights proponent from Uganda, were exiting the Arches parking lot on June 13 when a metal gate on the entrance road near the visitors center swung into the couples car, causing Nakajigo to be needlessly decapitated.. Nakajjigo received numerous international accolades and awards and had come to the United States to further her education, participating in programs at Drexel University in Philadelphia as a Mandela Washington Fellow and at the Watson Institute in Boulder, Colorado, where she was the recipient of a Luff Peace Fellowship. He has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has struggled with flashbacks. The women's rights activist from Uganda was 25 when, during a camping trip to Arches National Park in June 2020, she was beheaded by a metal gate that blew closed in strong winds and sliced through the side of the car she was riding in. Nakajjigo donated her own college fund to start a hospital, Berndt said; she raised money for charities and never took a salary. The same year, Nakajjigo was named Ugandas ambassador for women and girls. 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. At age 17, Nakajjigo. They stipulate, however, that the plaintiffs should be awarded $22,508 for Nakajjigo's funeral expenses and $5,000 for Michaud's therapy expenses. 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. Something went wrong, please try again later. Nakajjigo created a reality TV show that helped child mothers stay in school and develop life skills, according to The Denver Post. "Because (Nakajjigo) is off the charts, you can't use the charts to evaluate her," McGinn said. Nakajjigo was not sure where she wanted to work whether it was in the U.S., back in Uganda or elsewhere but Michaud was willing to follow her wherever she could continue to make the most impact. IE 11 is not supported. But U.S. Attorney Amanda Berndt said while there's no question that the plaintiffs are entitled to a reward, a proper calculation of Nakajjigo's lost earnings must include the possibility that she might have left the workforce at some point for a variety of reasons. The newly married Michaud and Nakajjigo took a weekend trip to Arches National Park as a welcome break after months of lockdown amid the pandemic, court documents said. At age 17, she used her college tuition money to start a nonprofit community health center, which provided free reproductive health services to young women and girls. All this building towards the $140million in damages. Join Outside+ to get Outside magazine, access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. The family had initially sought a total of $270 million in damages, before lowering the amount to $140 -- while the government only wanted to pay $3.5 million. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her. The family of Esther Nakajjigo accused the National Park Service of negligence for not properly securing the metal gate that killed her. 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. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax During the trials opening statements in December, Nakajjigo was described as a pearl beyond price with limitless potential. None. 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. One time it was the delivery of her Social Security card; another time, an update on her immigration status. The ruling was. They wed in a courthouse ceremony in March 2020, three months before her death, and had plans to have a big ceremony in Uganda when it was safe to travel again. Ludovic Michaud and his new wife, Esther Nakajjigo, were driving around Arches National Park on a windy spring day in 2020 when a metal gate whipped around, sliced through the passenger door of. The closing arguments came after five days of trial that included testimony from Nakajjigo's family, friends and mentors, as well as from bystanders who witnessed the accident. 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 . Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was on a trip to the Utah park with her . Her mother flew to Utah from Uganda to attend the trial this week. afficher des publicits et des contenus personnaliss en fonction de vos profils de centres dintrt; mesurer lefficacit des publicits et contenus personnaliss; et. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. On June 13, she was needlessly decapitated by a metal gate that swung into the couples car as they were exiting the Arches parking lot on their way to go get ice cream, according to a wrongful death administrative claim exclusively obtained by NBC News. 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. 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. It feels lonely, and thats hard. 45 Join Insider . 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. As they were leaving the park on June 13, 2020, heavy winds apparently blew the metal entrance gate into the passenger side of the vehicle, striking and killing Nakajjigo. Sign up today. November 12, 2020 / 2:34 PM Michaud, Nakajjigo's husband, spoke about the intense trauma he's endured since his wife's death, including sleeplessness, nightmares and suicidal ideation. "The show saw an audience of 6.3 million each week, and Nakajjigo was named Uganda's 'Young Personality of the Year,'" the Post reported. 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. I felt completely meaningless after losing Nakajjigo, he said. 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. Esther Nakajjigo, a 25-year-old Ugandan human rights activist, was killed in a horrific accident at Arches National Park on June 13, 2020. Continuing her work brings him hope; he's already started a nonprofit in her name, the Esther Nakajjigo Foundation. But when she met Michaud in June 2019 in Aurora, Colorado, through a dating app, he just saw her as a smart person who loved to laugh. Though the amount was substantially less than pursued, attorneys representing the family of Esther Nakajjigo celebrated the judgment, saying it was the largest federal wrongful death verdict in Utah history. Nakajjigo, who went by Essie, was a womens rights champion in Uganda. He was "instantly covered with blood," the complaint says. We dont know with any level of certainty what her plans were, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nelson said. (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. The gate had been unsecured for the previous two weeks, despite national park requirements that prohibit gates from swinging, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. SALT LAKE CITY 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 damages, a federal judge ruled Monday. Esther Nakajjigo, a native of Uganda, accomplished more at age 25 than most do in a lifetime. They were driving toward the exit when suddenly a gust of wind lifted a metal gate and the arm swung into the roadway. At age 17, she used her college tuition money to start a nonprofit community health center, which provided free reproductive health services to young women and girls.
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