The family of a man who wandered away from his Association of Retarded Citizens of Kaua‘i caretakers have filed a suit against the organization.
The complaint filed in civil court claims ARC was negligent, and caused emotional distress, in failing to properly supervise a client and then failing to immediately report the man missing. The suit alleges that the actions contributed to a wrongful death in the case.
The complaint was filed July 28 in Fifth Circuit Court, Civil Division. Patrick Harrington, acting individually and as special administrator to his brother’s estate, is represented by Mark S. Davis of the Honolulu firm Davis Levin Livingston Grande.
Davis was not available for a comment. As the ARC of Kaua‘i was not available to be reached by press time, it was not possible to gain a statement from the organization.
The body of John Harrington, 61, was found after a 10-day search last fall. An autopsy confirmed that he died from exposure to the elements.
The suit seeks unspecified general, special and punitive damages.
John Harrington suffered extraordinary pain, suffering, terror and emotional distress, physical injury and death, the complaint states.
Harrington was on an outing at Po‘ipu Beach Park at about 3:30 p.m. Nov. 20 when he went on a walk by himself. ARC of Kaua‘i employees were aware that he was lost or not within their immediate control and observation but waited until after sundown, about 7 p.m., to report him missing and thus lost a “window of opportunity” to locate him possibly in a nearby location during daylight hours, the complaint alleges.
A search began Nov. 20 and was organized by the Kaua‘i Police Department along with friends and family of the lost man. On Nov. 30, Harrington’s body was found on rocks in an embankment on the mauka side of the fork in the road past the guard shack that leads into Maha‘ulepu.
Patrick Harrington, of Harrington Paradise Properties based in Hanalei, was John’s brother and only surviving immediate relative on Kaua‘i. John lived here since 1983.
Patrick enjoyed the friendship, love and affection of his brother, the complaint states. He aided in the search and “ultimately suffered severe and emotional distress” from his brother’s untimely death and the ARC of Kaua‘i’s alleged negligence.
In an interview with TGI at his home in Anahola several days after his brother’s body was found and identified, he said he “(didn’t) want to think about blaming anyone or what went wrong” at the time.
Harrington said later that he still feels somewhat similarly and that he hoped the ARC of Kaua‘i would be able to refine procedures so what happened to his brother would never happen to another ARC client.
Staff Writer Kendyce Manguchei can be reached at kmanguchei@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 252).
