The family of a woman who died after nearly drowning during a Florida triathlon is asking a Lake County judge to compel race organizers to release videotapes, reports, and other documents that could reveal negligence
South Florida attorney Diana Santa Maria seeks the materials to investigate the death of Dorothy Barnett-Griffin, 43, who lost consciousness while swimming in the 2007 Ford Ironman Florida in Panama City.
The request, filed as part of a fact-finding effort that could lead to a wrongful-death lawsuit, was submitted in Lake County since Timothy Johnson, the organizer of the event’s 2.4-mile swim, resides in South Lake.
“He’s the key,” Santa Maria said of Johnson. “He organized the entire swim.”
Johnson, currently in Hawaii for the Ironman Championship, did not respond to phone calls or emails for comment. Court documents list his address in Minneola.
The demand also names World Triathlon Corp., based in Tampa and the owner of the Ironman World Championships, as well as USA Triathlon, the sport’s sanctioning body. Helen Manning, a World Triathlon spokeswoman, said she was unaware of the legal filing and could not comment on Barnett-Griffin’s death.
Barnett-Griffin, a former nurse and Texas mother of three, never regained consciousness after being pulled from the Gulf of Mexico near the end of the swim by Ironman volunteers.
Her death, caused by anoxic encephalopathy—a brain injury due to lack of oxygen—was ruled accidental by the Bay County medical examiner. She died five days after the race.
Barnett-Griffin participated in the event to raise $10,000 for Journey of Hope, a nonprofit supporting children coping with loss. She joined the group in 2002 after her first husband, Dr. John Barnett, was killed in a car crash during a family trip to Atlanta for Thanksgiving.
Her death closely resembled that of Bernard Rice, 35, who died during the same event the previous year. Santa Maria, who represented Rice’s estate, previously filed a federal lawsuit against World Triathlon a
nd USA Triathlon.
Leave a Reply