The husband and parents of a Ugandan activist decapitated by a swinging gate at Arches National Park in Utah were awarded $10.6 million in damages by a federal judge Monday.
Esther Nakajjigo, a Ugandan, and her new husband, Frenchman Ludovic Michaud, were vacationing in eastern Utah in June 2020 and visited the national park. As the pair left a parking lot to get ice cream, a gust of wind propelled a gate, normally secured with a padlock, into their rental car.
Nakajjigo was decapitated. The gate just missed Mr. Michaud, who, along with Nakajjigo’s parents, moved to file a wrongful death claim. The U.S. government did not dispute the facts of the case; the judge’s verdict determined how much money would be paid out.
“This decision serves as a reminder of the importance of proper maintenance and safety measures in our national parks, so as to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. … The trial and this verdict have helped me significantly in the healing process and in my journey to find peace,” Mr. Michaud said, according to KCNC-TV, a Denver CBS affiliate.
Mr. Michaud and Nakajjigo’s parents argued that since Esther was an activist who had raised funds to improve infrastructure in her hometown and who had hosted a TV program in Uganda advancing women’s empowerment, the settlement should reflect the lifetime earnings of a nonprofit CEO. The three asked for a $140 million settlement.
The U.S. government, noting that Nakajjigo’s last job in the U.S. paid $15 hourly, argued for a $3.5 million settlement.
Judge Bruce Jenkins of the District Court of Utah, wrote in his judgment that the government put forth “a more reasonable projection,” according to the Associated Press. He also qualified that, given what her loved ones lost from her death, there was “no satisfactory metric to measure those losses with precision,” according to the Denver Post.
Thus, Judge Jenkins determined that Mr. Michaud should receive $9.5 million, Nakajjigo’s mother Christine Namagembe $700,000 and Nakajjigo’s father John Bosco Kateregga $350,000.
The settlement is the largest in Utah history.
“We respect the judge’s decision and hope this award will help her loved ones as they continue to heal from this tragedy. On behalf of the United States, we again extend our condolences to Ms. Nakajjigo’s friends, family and beloved community,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Trina Higgins said, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.