Dearborn Settles Lawsuit With Family Of Boy Who Died At Camp Dearborn

MILFORD, MI — The City of Dearborn settled a lawsuit with the family of a 10-year-old boy who died at Camp Dearborn last summer.

Carson Dunn was on the floating "Jungle Float" on a lake at the camp on July 6, 2022, when he slipped and the upper part of his body "hit a lower railing/platform, suffering blunt force chest trauma" before he fell into the water, according to the lawsuit.

Dunn tried to catch his fall by grabbing the play structure's handles, but the handles were broken or not properly secured, according to the lawsuit.

Officials pulled Dunn, who was unresponsive, from the water and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he died, Michigan State Police said at the time.

An autopsy showed Dunn suffered an internal injury that led him to bleed to death, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims Dunn died because he did not immediately receive potentially life-saving care, and blames the owners of the Jungle Float, listed as Splash Island LLC, for not operating the structure and its "location in the lake where patrons could not be transported safely and immediately."

Moreover, the lawsuit also accuses two city of Dearborn workers at the site that "failed to immediately provide adequate lifesaving procedures and promptly notify 911 and further were unable to timely transport plaintiff’s decedent to the shore for emergency treatment that would have saved his life."

The lawsuit also blamed the structure of the "Jungle Float," also known as a Tarzan Boat or "mobile water park," calling it an improper design, and accused its makers, Sport Pontoons LLC, as "negligently, recklessly, and/or knowingly failed to warn of the potential dangers posed to consumers and the public" when using it.

The lawsuit originally sought at least $25,000 in damages on behalf of Dunn’s mother and brother, who were with him at Camp Dearborn. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed. Litigation against the two companies was still ongoing.

A scholarship for recreational basketball players in Metro Detroit was set up in Dunn’s honor.