FERGUS FALLS, Minn. -- Parents of a Fergus Falls teen who drowned on a church youth trip two years ago have reached a settlement with the church and the company the church rented two houseboats from.
Briggs Anderson, 14, drowned July 29, 2013, while on a youth trip with Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church to Rainy Lake, on the U.S.-Canada border near International Falls, Minn.
In February 2014, his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the houseboat company, Rainy Lakes Houseboats, alleging that their negligence had led to Briggs’ death.
The lawsuit, settled out of court in October, alleged Briggs suffered carbon monoxide poisoning while swimming near the generator of the one of the houseboats, and that the poisoning led to him losing consciousness and drowning.
Rainy Lakes Houseboats and Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church disputed how detailed the instructions and warnings about carbon monoxide were, court documents state. Rainy Lakes Houseboats said detailed instructions were given, including that swimming shouldn’t be done while the houseboat generators were running, while the church representatives said none of that information was conveyed.
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