A British man passed away in an Aria Resort and Casino hotel room in August 2023. Now his family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hotel and an ambulance company.
William Howell died the night of August 30, 2023, after not being able to travel home from Las Vegas because of diabetic complications.
Key Highlights
- William Howell’s estate is suing Aria, MGM Resorts International, and two ambulance employees.
- Howell was ill while waiting for a flight at the Las Vegas airport.
- After he was attended to, he was not permitted on the flight and took an Uber back to Aria.
- Aria hotel staff found Howell dead in his room the next day.
Suing All Involved
The lawsuit, filed by William Howell’s estate on behalf of his minor sons, Jack and Louis, aims to hold Aria, its parent company MGM Resorts International, Roe Security Company, and Community Ambulance employees Alexandra Gangemi and Dominique Johnson responsible.
Howell was a Type 1 diabetic. The complaint states that while he was waiting to board a Virgin Airlines flight to London at Harry Reid International Airport, an airline employee saw that he looked sick.
The flight was held, and Gangemi and Johnson arrived to treat Howell. They checked his vitals and saw that his blood sugar was high, after which Howell signed a form declining medical transport.
Too Ill to Travel
The lawsuit claims neither Gangemi nor Johnson did their jobs properly, saying they “spent no more than two minutes” with Howell.
Howell’s estate also says that the pair “did not properly inform (Howell) of the consequences of failing to seek attention, did not properly assess (Howell)’s mental capacity, did not perform the proper testing.”
Because of his condition, Howell was not allowed on the plane.
At that point, he caught an Uber back to Aria. The complaint states that Howell fell when exiting the car and was “visibly ill.”
Security staff attempted to take Howell back to his room, but since he had already checked out, he needed a new room key. After a short delay, security took him into the room at 10:12pm and left.
When Howell never arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport, his family called Aria. At 12:24pm, hotel staff found him dead in his room from apparent diabetic ketoacidosis.
MGM Target of Another Lawsuit
Casinos are certainly known to ply patrons with drinks and comps to keep them gambling, but this does not seem to be that kind of case.
Rather, it’s a case of Aria and the ambulance employees allegedly not properly caring for a human being.
A lawsuit filed against MGM Resorts International in November 2022 accuses the MGM Grand in Las Vegas of not just being negligent regarding a customer’s health, but encouraging him to continue gambling.
Dwight Manley, a high roller who had been a VIP at MGM for three decades, claims that someone put ketamine in his drink one fateful night in December 2020.
According to his lawsuit, Manley and his friends flew to Las Vegas from California via private jet and headed to MGM Grand. After having his first drink in the private high roller salon, Manley began to feel disoriented.
He broke a glass ashtray and cut his hand, alleging the casino’s staff only gave his friends Band-Aids to patch him up, rather than provide proper first aid.
Upon his return home, he had his hair follicles tested. The results came back positive for ketamine.
Manley went back to playing blackjack, and although pit staff allegedly could see he was behaving erratically, MGM Grand kept issuing him markers.
After three hours, Manley and his friends left for another casino. On the way, Manley’s condition worsened to the point where he couldn’t stand on his own.
His friends took him to his hotel room, where he passed out. Upon his return home, he had his hair follicles tested. The results came back positive for ketamine.
At the time of the lawsuit, MGM wanted him to pay nearly $2.5 million in casino markers. Manley has since offered a $1 million reward for information about whoever allegedly drugged him.
Sources
https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/british-family-files-wrongful-death-suit-against-las-vegas-strip-casino-3204916
https://www.pokernewsdaily.com/high-roller-sues-mgm-for-allegedly-drugging-him-while-played-blackjack-40471/
