DURHAM, N.C. — A family that lost five members in a tubing accident on a North Carolina river is suing Duke Energy, saying the utility failed to adequately warn people that its dam poses life-threatening risks.
Their lawsuit, filed in Durham County in August, specifically names Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC.
“Despite knowing of the danger posed by the dam, Duke Energy failed to use barricades, barriers, buoys and other safety devices to prevent boaters from going over the submerged dam and being caught in the recirculating currents,” the lawsuit says.
Duke Energy spokesman Dave Scanzoni said in a statement Friday that the utility would respond in detail in court.
Nine relatives from Eden, North Carolina, and LaPorte, Indiana, were floating down the Dan River in inflatable tubes on June 16 when they went over the 8-foot (2.4-meter) dam. The survivors were spotted the day after the accident by a Duke Energy employee, who called 911.