Family of Drowned Nebraska Boy Files $1M Claim

The family of an 11-year-old boy who drowned in an eastern Nebraska lake has filed a claim against the natural resources district that manages it, asking for $1 million and other damages.

Bayden Jacob Martinez-Rush drowned in Lake Wanahoo on June 12 while fishing near the lake’s dam spillway.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that the claim alleges the district was negligent by failing to take reasonable precautions to protect children and others from falling into or entering the spillway. They also say the district failed to post warning signs near the spillway and that the spillway is “inherently dangerous” because of its construction and design.

State law requires a claim to be filed with a government entity before a lawsuit can be filed.