Siliana Gaspard, the wife of the late Shad Gaspard, filed court papers Monday against the state of California, Los Angeles County, and the city of Los Angeles, claiming negligence and dangerous condition of public property.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Siliana alleges there were "insufficient signs warning of the dangers of swimming there, that lifeguards who tried to rescue her husband and his 10-year-old son near the 4200 block of S. Ocean Front Walk were understaffed and not properly trained, and that they did not bring the proper equipment. She further alleges the rescuers assisted the boy, but left Shad Gaspard in the water to die."
She is seeking unspecified damages and burial costs.
The lawsuit is still unofficial in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Gaspard was last seen on May 17 in Venice Beach. Searches were conducted in the ensuing days before his body was recovered on May 20. Los Angeles Police Department stated at the time that he was last seen by a lifeguard before a wave crashed over him and he was swept to sea.
Gaspard instructed lifeguards to save his son before being pulled under.
