$3.9 million in damages awarded in wrongful death case
Four-and-a-half years after Judge Wendy Horn ordered the closure of the Offsets Recreation site, the sign is faded, and grass has grown up around the entrance gate to the property. Kevin R. Jenkins
After request for a new trial was denied
A court case against the Offsets, which began back in 2019, saw a significant development as Judge Wendy Horn of the Madison County Circuit Court denied a motion for a new trial, reinforcing the $3.9 million judgment.
The case of Joseph and Melissa Duffell against Offsets Recreation, LLC, and individuals Gary Henson and Rebecca Henson was previously concluded as a jury awarded $1,942,200 in actual damages and $1 million each in punitive damages against the defendants in August, following the death of the Duffells’ son, Cole, at the Offsets.
On Nov. 17, Horn rejected the request to set the verdict aside and order a new trial.
Cole Duffell, 19, lost his life after jumping off a 15-foot bluff at the Offsets on July 4, 2018. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the teen jumped off an embankment, came up once, went back under and did not resurface.
Judge Horn ordered the closure of the Offsets Recreation site in May of 2019, requiring significant safety improvements before allowing it to reopen.
Duffell’s drowning marked the eighth reported death at the site, with all the victims being between the ages of 18 and 25. All of the fatalities involved drowning.
The recent jury verdict highlighted the lack of safety measures at the Outsets, including the absence of lifeguards, inadequate response training for water emergencies, and a lack of safety equipment at the recreation area. These were all among the reasons that Judge Horn ordered the closure.
During the trial, Matthew Devoti and Matthew Casey argued the operators of the Offsets failed to make substantive evaluations of their operation despite the injunction issued by Judge Horn.
According to a press release by the Duffels’ attorneys, Matthew Devoti and Matthew Casey, “no lifeguards were on site, no one was trained to respond to a water emergency, and no safety equipment was available at the time of the drowning. Cole’s death happened on July 4. Only two staff were working at the time and one of those was stationed at the area’s front gate to collect the entry fee. Neither the park’s operator nor the park’s manager were on the clock when our client’s son drowned. ”
According to court documents, the defense noted Cole had brought alcohol on site, with the autopsy showing a blood alcohol content of .152. They also said a liability waiver was signed before entering the swimming hole, and signage warning guests to “swim at your own risk” and “no lifeguards on duty” were posted prominently at various locations.
The Duffells reported that their son was a strong swimmer. In court documents that they shared, he learned to swim at six, swam competitively for five or six years and earned his Boy Scout swimming merit badge when he was 12.
The Offsets is located on Highway OO. It was a former lead mine that was flooded to form an approximately five-acre lake. Bluffs of varying heights almost surround it, some up to at least 40 feet above the water level.
Victoria Kemper is a contributing writer for the Daily Journal and Democrat News.
