Family awarded nearly $21M in appeal for Myrtle Beach drowning lawsuit
A panel of judges in the South Carolina Court of Appeals upheld a verdict of a jury settlement for the family of Zerihun Wolde who drowned in August 2018 when a Lack’s Beach Service lifeguard failed to save him.
The appellate ruling filed July 16, 2025 confirms the lower court’s verdict and all damages: $10 million for wrongful death, $3.7 million for survival damages and $7 million in punitive damages, totaling nearly $21 million.
“The jury found Lack’s was negligent and its negligence caused Wolde’s death; the jury found no negligence on the part of Wolde,” the decision read.
A message for Lack’s Beach Service was not immediately returned on Wednesday.
Mesawet Abel, Wolde’s fiance and the mother of his children, and her attorneys previously said the company — which holds a franchise agreement with the city allowing it to rent equipment to visitors while also providing lifeguards— didn’t provide its workers with appropriate training.
They also allege that their dual roles of handling rental equipment while also having to watch the water made Lack’s Beach Service culpable for Wolde’s death, according to previous Sun News reporting.
“Significantly, based on the correspondence alone, we find the jury could conclude that Lack’s knew the dual-role requirement was an unsafe practice and in violation of the accepted standard of care in the industry,” the appellate court’s decision on Wednesday read.
The United States Lifesaving Association had also previously stripped Lack’s Beach Service of its certification due to the unsafe practice of dual-role staffing, according to the lawsuit.
This case has helped set a precedent in the court of appeals that lifeguard coverage cannot be compromised by commercial activities.
The city got rid of the dual lifeguard model that was in place at the time of Wolde’s death in 2022, reporting at the time said.
Last summer, the City of Myrtle Beach renewed their contract for lifeguarding services on city beaches with Lack’s Beach Service and John’s Beach Service through Sept. 30, 2031. The franchise agreement separated the water safety and beach concession roles of the lifeguards, according to the ordinance.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated who wrote the appeal. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals voted to uphold the verdict presided over by Judge Kristi Curtis. (Updated on 7/17/2025 at 2:14 p.m.).
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 12:38 PM.
