But an attorney for her parents and husband said they were grateful for the judgment, which represents the largest federal wrongful death verdict in Utah history, the Associated Press reported. They argued that had employees installed the gate properly and secured it with an $8 padlock, Nakajjigos death could have been prevented, NBC News reported. Posted at 10:15 PM, Nov 12, 2020 Its still hard to concentrate, but I try to.. Having received numerous international accolades and awards, Nakajjigo came to the United States to further her education, where she met Michaud a video streaming technology solution architect via a dating app. Attorney Randi McGinn, representing Nakajjigos family, on Monday asked the family to leave when he described the death in gruesome detail. In his judgement, Jenkins said the government had provided a more reasonable projection of Nakajjigos earnings potential. 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According to a court filing, the National Park Service and Arches National Park created a lethal and undetectable danger with the gate, which turned a metal pipe into a spear that went straight through the side of a car, decapitating and killing Esther Nakajjigo.. SALT LAKE CITY The United States will pay family members of a Ugandan human rights activist killed in an accident at Arches National Park more than $10 million in damages, a federal judge ruled Monday. We dont know with any level of certainty what her plans were, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nelson said. None. Because neither the U.S. nor Nakajjigos family disputed the facts of the case, the civil suit focused largely on the amount of damages merited. She was named as Ugandas ambassador for women and girls and received an award from the United Nations after she used her university tuition money to start a non-profit community centre that offered free healthcare to girls and women aged 10 to 24. But when she met Michaud in June 2019 in Aurora, Colorado, through a dating app, he just saw her as a smart person who loved to laugh. Credit: AP FILE - Delicate. The family of a womens rights activist who was killed in a gruesome accident at a national park is suing a US agency over her tragic death. The metal gate at Arches National Park, normally secured with a lock, was left untethered. A lot of things remind me of her, Michaud told the. Arches National Park is a 120-square-mile desert landscape near Moab, Utah, that is visited by more than 1.5 million people annually. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The United States will pay family members of a Ugandan human rights activist killed in an accident at Arches National Park more than . The French national said he and his wife, who had only been married for three months and lived in Denver, Colorado, had been on a hike and had lunch before driving out of the park. The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a prominent Ugandan human rights activist killed in Arches National Park in 2020. New pill cuts cholesterol, heart attacks, Suspect in Dylan Rounds disappearance charged with murder. IE 11 is not supported. DENVER (CBS4) - The family of a Denver woman has filed a $270 million wrongful death claim against Arches National Park after she was killed there over the summer. She rose from poverty to become the host of a solutions-oriented reality television series in Uganda focused on empowering women on issues such as education and healthcare, and had successfully raised funds to build health care facilities in her hometown. They stipulate, however, that the plaintiffs should be awarded $22,508 for Nakajjigo's funeral expenses and $5,000 for Michaud's therapy expenses. Instead, "the end of the lance-like gate pierced the side of their car and penetrated it like a hot knife through butter." Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her husband in Denver, where she moved to attend a leadership course on a full scholarship. The family are arguing that the US Park Service was negligent and did not properly maintain the gates at the entrances and exits to the parks, leading to their loved one's death. Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was on a trip to the Utah park with her . I felt completely meaningless after losing Nakajjigo, he said. The gate had been left unlatched against federal policy for two weeks prior to the tragic accident in June 2020. But on Friday, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nelson tried to give Michaud some peace of mind. Denver7's Lance Hernandez reports. Drenched in his wifes blood, Michaud instinctively jumped out of the slowly moving car after impact, then got back in to put it in park. They had wanted three children. I really wanted to show her Arches, he told Fox 13. Michaud said he and Nakajjigo were two weeks shy of closing on a condo when the accident occurred, with hopes of owning a house down the road. Michaud and his in-laws are asking a federal judge for $140 million. Its a fear of erasing her, I guess, when you use something that she bought or that she ate or that we did together, he said. The family of a Ugandan young girl child activist, Esther Nakajjigo who died in the United States of America (USA) have asked government to help them repatriate her body, to be accorded a decent burial. The family of Ugandan philanthropist Esther Nakajjigo, who was decapitated by a traffic gate in front of her husband in Arches National Park in Utah, has been awarded $10.5m. ", In 2020, Ludovic Michaud was driving with his 25-year-old wife Esther Nakajjigo out of Utah's Arches National Park to get ice cream on June 13 when a metal gate swung into the car and cut her head off, according to a wrongful death administrative claim obtained by NBC News. Recreation areas had recently opened after pandemic-era closures and, on the edge of Arches, a metal gate normally secured with a lock was left untethered. By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's. One of his regrets is not saying, "I love you," one more time. The U.S. government has admitted responsibility for Nakajjigos death and for the emotional distress inflicted upon her husband, an attorney for the plaintiffs said. They wed in a courthouse ceremony in March 2020, three months before her death, and had plans to have a big ceremony in Uganda when it was safe to travel again. It alleges that if park employees had properly installed the gate to not swing into oncoming traffic or placed an $8 padlock on the gate to secure it from moving in the breeze, the world would not have lost a young woman influencer destined to become our societys future Princess Diana, Philanthropist Melinda Gates, or Oprah Winfrey.. The women's rights activist from Uganda was 25 when, during a camping trip to Arches National Park in June 2020, she was beheaded by a metal gate that blew closed in strong winds and sliced through the side of the car she was riding in. As recreation areas in eastern Utah reopened that summer, Michaud was excited to take his new wife to Arches National Park, and the two drove there in June. We hope that, in some way, the conclusion of this trial will help with your moving forward.". During the trials opening statements in December, Nakajjigo was described as a pearl beyond price with limitless potential, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. There is a lot of small things I miss.. Esther Nakajjigo was born in poverty in Kampala, Uganda, and rose to become a celebrated human rights activist through her work focusing on preventing teen pregnancy. He was "instantly covered with blood," the complaint says. According to Deborah Chang, the Los Angeles-based trial attorney representing Michaud, there was nothing he could have done to swerve out of the way of the gate that killed his wife and narrowly missed him. Disputing the family's claims the victim was on track to become the CEO of a non-profit who could eventually have netted an annual income in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Ludovic Michaud and his new wife, Esther Nakajjigo, were driving around Arches National Park on a windy spring day in 2020 when a metal gate whipped around, sliced through the passenger door of. They were driving toward the exit when suddenly a gust of wind lifted a metal gate and the arm swung into the roadway. "You bear no responsibility. Though the amount was substantially less than pursued, attorneys representing the family of Esther Nakajjigo celebrated the judgement . Nakajjigos remains were flown back to Uganda in August. Updated: Jan 31, 2023 / 03:49 PM MST. "On behalf of the family, we are very appreciative of the judge's attention to detail, the time he spent working on this, and for the value he put on the loss to this family of Essie," added Littlepage. Recreation areas had recently opened after pandemic-era closures and . The United States will pay family members of a Ugandan human rights activist killed in an accident at Arches National Park more than $10 million in damages, a federal judge ruled Monday. Judge Bruce Jenkins said he wants to "examine with care" all the information presented during the weeklong trial. What if they had gone on a different day, or left at a different time? I found her really interesting. In their legal complaint, Michaud and Nakajjigos parents said the National Park Service was negligent for not maintaining the gate. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Continuing her work brings him hope; he's already started a nonprofit in her name, the Esther Nakajjigo Foundation. Nakajjigo was decapitated after wind swung an untethered metal gate into her . At other points, he dabbed at his eyes; he lived like a student before meeting Nakajjigo, he said, but she turned their apartment into a home. The family had initially sought a total of $270 million in damages, before lowering the amount to $140 -- while the government only wanted to pay $3.5 million. The National Park Service did not respond to repeated inquiries from NBC News, nor did Arches National Park Chief Ranger Scott Brown. Nothing we can say makes up for your loss. In 2020, Ludovic Michaud was driving with his 25-year-old wife Esther Nakajjigo out of Utah's Arches National Park to get ice cream on June 13 when a metal gate swung into the car and cut her. When she was 17, she donated her university tuition money to start a private, nonprofit community health center that she named the Princess Diana Health Centre. Instead, Michaud met his wife's family -- who traveled to the States from Uganda -- for the first time just before the trial started. Esther Nakajjigo (credit: Ludovic Michaud). Additionally, Berndt said the plaintiffs can only speculate on what Nakajjigo might have done had she lived, and the court can't ignore that "in favor of dreams and potential.". Throughout the trial, attorneys debated estimates of Nakajjigos earnings potential. The couple was leaving a park parking lot to get ice cream when a metal traffic control gate swung into the road, piercing the passenger side of the couples rental car and severing Nakajjigos head. He no longer has a TV in his apartment because the sight of any blood is triggering, he said. Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Esther Nakajjigo was beheaded after the wind whipped a metal gate round cutting into the passenger side of the car, Esther Nakajjigo with her husband Ludovic Michaud, A picture of the gates that led to the young woman's death. Vous pouvez modifier vos choix tout moment en cliquant sur le lien Tableau de bord sur la vie prive prsent sur nos sites et dans nos applications. John Ssenkindu, Esther's brother, told journalists that her sister was hit by a metallic gate of the Arches National Park in the US . Estimated read time: 5-6 The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a prominent Ugandan human rights activist killed in Arches National Park in 2020. Nakajjigo married Denver man Ludovic Michaud in March 2020. 45 Join Insider . Instead of planning their future together, Michaud is now processing the trauma and grief of Nakajjigos gruesome death and hoping the lawsuit his attorney plans to file will save other families from experiencing what he did. The gate reportedly smashed through the side of the car and struck Nakajjigo . Get Toofab breaking news sent right to your browser! The amount was far less than the $140 million Nakajjigos family originally sought. Arches National Park is best known for its pristine sandstone arches and its massive red Delicate Arch, which has featured in countless Instagram photos.. On October 22, Michaud filed a wrongful death claim against the US National Parks Service seeking .