Victim's Widow Pursues Wrongful Death Claim Against Travel Firms Linked to Resort, following her spouse's fatal electrocution in a hot tub.
Lizzette Zambrano, a resident of El Paso County, Texas, is blaming the "managers, operators, and owners" of the Sonoran Sea Resort in Sonora, Mexico for the death of her husband, Jorge Guillen, due to alleged gross negligence, as stated in the lawsuit.Zambrano is now recuperating at home, according to her attorney.
"I want someone to take responsibility for what happened to my husband and me," Zambrano shared with ABC's Good Morning America in an interview that aired Friday.
The couple were vacationing at the resort on June 11 when they decided to relax in the hot tub, according to the lawsuit. Upon Guillen entering the tub, he was reportedly exposed to an electrical current in the water, leading him to collapse and drown.
"As soon as Jorge entered the tub, he was exposed to an electrical current in the water," the lawsuit stated. "Jorge immediately keeled over into the tub and was taken under the surface of the water."
Zambrano attempted to rescue her husband but was also electrocuted. She was saved by a bystander and eventually taken to a hospital.
"Patrons attempted to help, grabbing a shepherd’s cross and other items to try and get Jorge’s body," the lawsuit claims. "However, the metal from the objects carried the electrical current and began shocking the rescuers."
The lawsuit names vacation rental companies Casago, LLC, Casago International, LLC, and High Desert Travel, Inc. as defendants. CNN reached out to each company for comment, but only High Desert Travel, Inc. reacted to the request.
Guillen was reportedly shocked and drowned underwater for 10 minutes before help from Casago staff and the other defendants arrived, according to the lawsuit.
"A lot of people jumped in, but they kept jumping out because the shocks were so strong," Zambrano told ABC.
In a statement to CNN, Casago LLC said, "We are deeply saddened by what has transpired and our thoughts are with the family and the victims of this tragic incident."
"The Sonoran Sea is a condo resort and the homeowners’ association is responsible for all common areas, including the maintenance of the swimming pool, hot tubs, and grounds. Casago, a vacation rental company, is not involved in any management or maintenance of the resort," the statement continued. "Regarding this incident, our involvement ends at the individual condo reservation."
The homeowners' association has not responded to CNN's request for comment.
It is unclear how or if Casago, LLC is associated with Casago International LLC. Corporate records show Casago International, LLC and High Desert Travel, Inc. share the same Arizona office address and top executive, as well as the same telephone number.
El Paso County Judge Francisco X. Dominguez granted a temporary restraining order on Tuesday, prohibiting the defendants or anyone working with them from altering the hot tub, and ordered any video evidence from the incident and all communications about the incident between the defendants' employees to be preserved until at least July 2.
"Preserving this evidence is crucial for the prosecution of Ms. Zambrano’s case and a crucial first step in this litigation, to hopefully preventing such a tragedy from happening again," said Zambrano's attorney, Tej Paranjpe.
The lawsuit describes Guillen as a "hardworking, loving, compassionate, energetic, cooperative, patient, and attentive father who gave guidance, advice, counseling, protection, comfort, services, care, and attention to his family."
"His death has left Lizzette without the love and companionship of her husband, and the right to that affection, solace, comfort, assistance, and companionship," the suit stated.
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The lawsuit mentions that Lizzette Zambrano is seeking justice for her husband's death, stating, "I want someone to take responsibility for what happened to my husband and me." Furthermore, the suit names several travel firms as defendants due to their alleged connection to the resort where this incident occurred, including "Casago, LLC, Casago International, LLC, and High Desert Travel, Inc."
