Gia Joyce Thomas filed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday in Palm Beach County against the City of Riviera Beach, accusing fire-rescue personnel of botching the response that followed her husband’s death after his SUV went into a canal.
The complaint says Heath Jerome Thomas died on April 22, 2024, after Riviera Beach Fire Rescue responded to Garden Road and Interstate Park Road South for a vehicle in the water. When firefighters arrived, the suit says, Thomas’ SUV was floating in the middle of the canal, stable and not actively sinking. One firefighter went to the driver’s door and began talking to Thomas, according to the filing. Other firefighters then opened a rear door and used a center-punch tool to break the driver’s window. The lawsuit says those actions caused the vehicle to sink and submerge before Thomas could be removed.
The filing points to failures in training, supervision and equipment, saying the city and its fire-rescue personnel did not have proper water-rescue policies and procedures in place, did not properly manage the rescue, did not designate key roles and did not use flotation devices and other needed equipment. It also says the vehicle was not secured or stabilized before the window was broken or a door was opened.
The case relies in part on an Aug. 30, 2024 administrative investigation report that, according to the complaint, found several policy deviations and operational deficiencies tied to the response. That report, the lawsuit says, recommended designating primary and backup swimmers and a line tender for operational dives, reviewing hand signals and action plans before entering the water, and penetrating a vehicle window only when the vehicle is secured or actively sinking.
The suit seeks damages under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act for loss of support and services, loss of companionship and protection, mental pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, lost earnings and the loss of prospective net accumulations of the estate. It accuses the city of negligent supervision, negligent training and negligent failure to procure and use proper equipment for water rescues, and says those failures were a substantial contributing cause of Thomas’ death. The question now is not whether a rescue was attempted, but whether the attempt itself helped turn a survivable emergency into a fatal one.
