Wife of man killed in Las Vegas hotel on walkway escalator files lawsuit against Boyd Gaming
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LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The estate and wife of a man who died from injuries he sustained from an incident on a moving escalator walkway in Suncoast Hotel and Casino is suing Boyd Gaming, Coast Hotels and Casinos, and the makers of the walkway in a wrongful death suit.
On July 26, 2021, Roberto Samonte Bernales and his wife Vivienne de Jesus-Bernales entered the Suncoast Hotel and Casino at 9090 Alta Drive in Las Vegas as invited guests.
Roberto, who uses a walker, got on a moving escalator walkway in the hotel. A hump on a walkway caused Roberto to fall backward and hit his head, the lawsuit said.
After falling, Roberto’s shirt “became stuck on the moving walkway,” and he was “continuously dragged” for several minutes, which caused deep cuts on the back of his head.
His wife Vivienne called out for help multiple times for someone to stop the walkway while it continued to operate with Roberto stuck at the end.
Roberto suffered severe injuries from this incident, which he received medical and other treatment for. He later died from those injuries on August 3, 2021.
The lawsuit alleges that no warnings were posted to warn a person with a walker not to use the walkway.
The estate of Roberto and his wife Vivienne de Jesus-Bernales are suing the Boyd Gaming Corporation, Coast Hotels and Casinos, Suncoast Hotel and Casino, Thyssenkrupp Elevator Doors Corporation, TK Elevator Corporation, and several unnamed individuals for damages in excess of $50,000.
The lawsuit demands a jury trial.
“Defendants and each of them were aware or should have been aware [of] the dangerous
condition and prior injuries involving the hump on the walkway, lack of warnings, and defects in the escalator causing injuries,” the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit claimed that an escalator walkway does not normally have humps “in the absence of negligence.”
The lawsuit alleged that Suncoast Hotel and Casino and Boyd Gaming Corporation knew or should have known about the dangerous condition on hotel property and “negligently, carelessly and recklessly” maintained and allowed that dangerous condition to exist.
Suncoast and Boyd also showed negligence in inspecting or maintaining the escalator, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit stated that Suncoast and Boyd owed a “duty of care” to maintain the hotel in a “reasonably safe manner.”
The lawsuit later alleged that Suncoast and Boyd failed to properly supervise and train their employees.
Roberto died as a “direct and proximate result of the negligent acts and/or negligent omissions” of Suncoast and Boyd, the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit also named the Thyssenkrupp and TK elevator corporations, alleging that the walkway was defective in its design, manufacture, quality assurance and control testing, and in warnings, labeling, and instructions.
The lawsuit is for general damages sustained by Roberto and Vivienne in an amount in excess of $15,000, special damages in excess of $15,000, punitive damages in excess of $15,000, and attorney’s fees.
8 News Now reached out to Boyd Gaming Corporation for comment. They said they do not comment on pending litigation as a matter of company policy.
