– wrongful death lawsuit settlement
– Boy Scouts wrongful death settlement.
Accident – Death – Obituary News : A civil lawsuit brought by the family of an 11-year-old Boy Scout who tragically lost his life in 2023 at Camp Honokaia near Honokaa has been settled. Hilo attorney Kris LaGuire, representing the family of Manuel “Manny” Carvalho, confirmed on Thursday that the parties involved in the lawsuit have reached an agreement. The terms of the out-of-court settlement have been kept confidential.
The wrongful death civil suit was filed in January 2023 in Hilo Circuit Court by LaGuire on behalf of David G. Carvalho Sr. and Michele Ann Carvalho, Manny Carvalho’s parents, along with his four adult siblings and a younger sister who is still a minor. The suit alleged gross negligence on the part of the Boy Scouts of America and the Boy Scouts of America Aloha Council. It accused them of failing to adhere to safety standards set by the Boy Scouts of America, as well as allowing the use of firearms not permitted by the BSA rules governing shooting ranges.
Manny Carvalho, a sixth-grader at Waiakea Intermediate School and a member of Hilo Boy Scout Troop 19, was tragically killed on August 28, 2022, during a “Troop Shoot” and “Family Fun Day” at Camp Honokaia. The complaint stated that Carvalho was seated behind the firing line of one of the camp’s ranges when he was shot in the back of the head. The Hawaii Police Department reported that the fatal gunshot occurred when an unsupervised boy picked up an AK-47, which discharged when he placed it back on a table.
According to the lawsuit, the Boy Scouts Shooting Sports Manual only allows for the use of “.22 caliber breech-loading, single-shot, or repeater type bolt-action rifles with a box-style magazine” on camp ranges. The manual also prohibits the use of “human form and zombie silhouette targets,” both of which were allegedly present at the Camp Honokaia range.
During the case, documents were filed by the Carvalhos’ attorneys containing a Boy Scouts “executive packet” dated July 12, 2022, which expressed concerns that the organizations’ standard operating procedures were not being followed at Boy Scout shooting ranges, resulting in “several shooting sports-related incidents and near misses.”
Although no arrests or criminal charges have been made in connection with Carvalho’s death, police forwarded the investigation of 23 potential firearms-related offenses stemming from the incident to the county prosecutor’s office for review in September 2022. Among the possible charges is criminally negligent storage of a firearm.
The charges under review are against three men who were present at the scene of the incident and were identified as the registered owners of multiple firearms. A total of 18 firearms and various types of ammunition were confiscated by the police. Capt. Rio-Amon Wilkins of the Hilo Criminal Investigation Division stated that all charges being considered for potential filing are misdemeanors, punishable by up to a year in jail upon conviction. The statute of limitations for misdemeanors in Hawaii allows authorities two years from the time of an incident to file related charges.
Police conducted extensive interviews with both adults and minors present at the rifle range. The incident is believed to be accidental, with no suspicion of foul play in Carvalho’s death, which was determined by an autopsy to be the result of a single gunshot wound. The firearm that was discharged belonged to the father of the minor who picked it up, and no criminal charges are being considered against the minor.
For further information, please contact John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com..
– Boy Scouts settle wrongful death case
– Plaintiffs settle wrongful death case against Boy Scouts.
