The mother of a 14-year-old South Carolina girl injured in a boating accident, causing her thumb to be amputated, is suing Myrtle Beach tourism leader James Matthew Brittain and Murrells Inlet Epiphany over the incident, according to federal court documents.
The 14-year-old girl was on her father’s boat, which was in the process of being rafted and moored alongside several other similar vessels in Murrells Inlet, according to WMBF News, an NBC affiliate.
Mary Hope Georgino, the mother of the girl, said that “suddenly and without warning, Brittain came through the harbor operating the Epiphany at a high rate of speed close to the nearby moored and rafted boats. Despite numerous calls to slow down, Brittain’s speed and proximity caused a huge wake that caused several other boats to rock violently and then fled the scene,” according to documents filed in South Carolina District Court.
The 14-year-old girl’s hand was resting on the side of her father’s boat and the force of the collision caused by Brittain’s wake caused her hand to be crushed between two boats, the document states.
The lawsuit claims Brittain’s actions are a result of negligence and carelessness.
Georgino is suing to cover her daughter’s medical bills, disfigurement, travel expenses, pain and suffering, annoyance, trauma, travel expenses and emotional distress, according to court documents.
