DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court says a Nebraska woman whose 10-year-old son died in a 2010 boating accident on Storm Lake cannot sue the state of Iowa for damages.
The Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that Iowa’s public-duty doctrine protects government agencies and officers from damage lawsuits when acting in a capacity that benefits the general public.
The case centers on a May 2010 accident in which David McFarlin died after a boat he was riding in hit a dredge pipe submerged in Storm Lake. His mother, Jamie Laass, of South Sioux City, Nebraska, sued Iowa for negligence.
The court said the state’s role in ensuring boating safety is similar to that of a police officer and thus protected under the public-duty doctrine.
