The gruesome nature of Nakajjigo's death and the fact that she was a renowned Ugandan women's rights activist drew widespread attention to the case. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her. One series reportedly had a weekly audience of 6.3 million viewers. Esther Nakajjigo lost her life when she was decapitated at an entrance to Arches National Park in Utah back in June. In their legal complaint, Michaud and Nakajjigos parents said the National Park Service was negligent for not maintaining the gate. On Monday, a federal judge ruled Ludovic Michaud, the husband of Esther Nakajjigo, will receive $9.5 million, while Nakajjigo's mother and father were awarded $700,000 and $350,000, respectively, per the Salt Lake Tribune. The ruling was. She was subsequently named Ugandas ambassador for women and girls. In pink tops and white pants, women celebrate free period products becoming available in Utahs state buildings, Proposal to boost Utah bar licenses gets smaller with another round of cuts by lawmakers, Moab, Park City cry foul as Utah lawmakers target rules for vacation homes. During the trials opening statements in December, Nakajjigo was described as a pearl beyond price with limitless potential, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Esther Nakajjigo's horrified husband was driving when a metal gate was whipped round in the wind and cut into the car where she was sitting and beheading her in Arches National Park in Utah, US. Nakajjigo and her husband, Ludovic Michaud, were vacationing in eastern Utah, visiting the regions national parks months after their wedding. afficher des publicits et des contenus personnaliss en fonction de vos profils de centres dintrt; mesurer lefficacit des publicits et contenus personnaliss; et. deductible, Report a missed paper by emailingsubscribe@sltrib.comor calling801-237-2900, For e-edition questions or comments, contact customer support801-237-2900or emailsubscribe@sltrib.com. Nakajjigo was decapitated after wind swung an untethered metal gate into her . But U.S. Attorney Amanda Berndt said while there's no question that the plaintiffs are entitled to a reward, a proper calculation of Nakajjigo's lost earnings must include the possibility that she might have left the workforce at some point for a variety of reasons. The newly married Michaud and Nakajjigo took a weekend trip to Arches National Park as a welcome break after months of lockdown amid the pandemic, court documents said. Arches National Park is a 120-square-mile desert landscape near Moab, Utah, that is visited by more than 1.5 million people annually. For this work, the United Nations Population Fund gave her the Woman Achiever Award. According to the claim, Michaud, of Denver, and Nakajjigo, a womens rights proponent from Uganda, were exiting the Arches parking lot on June 13 when a metal gate on the entrance road near the visitors center swung into the couples car, causing Nakajigo to be needlessly decapitated.. He and his wife, Esther Nakajjigo, who had moved to Colorado from Uganda, went to Utah as a welcome break from being quarantined. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. When he inhaled the copper-tinged smell of blood, turned to figure out what it was and saw his beheaded wife. Ludovic Michaud, the husband of late human rights activist Esther Nakajjigo, has filed a $270 million wrongful death administrative claim against the National Park Service, according to a report by NBC News, following a June accident at Arches National Park near Moab. Si vous ne souhaitez pas que nos partenaires et nousmmes utilisions des cookies et vos donnes personnelles pour ces motifs supplmentaires, cliquez sur Refuser tout. The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a prominent Ugandan human rights activist killed in Arches National Park in 2020. Mr Michaud and Ms Nakajjigos family have filed a lawsuit in a US court accusing the National Park Service of negligence, Fox 13 reports. The National Park Service did not respond to repeated inquiries from NBC News, nor did Arches National Park Chief Ranger Scott Brown. Jenkins awarded Michaud $9.5 million; Nakajjigos mother, Christine Namagembe, $700,000; and her father, John Bosco Kateregga, $350,000. Its still hard to concentrate, but I try to.. Though the amount was substantially less than pursued, attorneys representing the family of Esther Nakajjigo celebrated the judgment, saying it was the largest federal wrongful death verdict in Utah history. In his judgement, Jenkins said the government had provided a more reasonable projection of Nakajjigos earnings potential. The lawsuit alleges that a simple $8 padlock could have prevented the gate from swinging, and claims the park violated regulations. Judge Bruce Jenkins said he wants to "examine with care" all the information presented during the weeklong trial. The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a prominent Ugandan human rights activist killed in Arches National Park in 2020 / CBS Colorado. While much less than they were initially seeking, the family was clearly pleased with the results -- with attorney Zoe Littlepage calling the amount "the largest verdict from a federal judge in Utah history.". Esther Nakajjigo (credit: Ludovic Michaud). The tragic accident is now the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit Michaud and Nakajjigo's family are pursuing, in which they argue that the U.S. Park Service was negligent and did not maintain . What if he hadn't suggested the trip. As the couple was leaving the park, gusts of wind swung the gate around rapidly, enough to slice through the passenger side door of the couples car, decapitating Nakajjigo as her husband sat feet away in the drivers seat. Nakajjigo was. minutes. You wouldnt able to detect it or see it.. By his verdict, Judge Bruce Jenkins has shown the world how the American justice system works to hold its own government accountable and greatly values all lives, including that of Esther Nakajjigo, a remarkable young woman from Uganda, Randi McGinn, the familys attorney said in a statement. What if they had gone on a different day, or left at a different time? Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5 million for Utah death - Los Angeles Times One of his regrets is not saying, "I love you," one more time. Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was driving around the stunning Arches National Park in Utah, US, in 2020 along with her husband Ludovic Michaud when the unthinkable happened. At age 17, Nakajjigo. The lawsuit filed by Ludovic Michaud, of Denver, claims his wife Esther Nakajjigo was decapitated while in the passenger seat of a car exiting Arches National Park. in the two-plus years since his wife, Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo, was hit and killed by an unsecured gate while the couple was leaving Arches National Park. The large monetary damages being sought on behalf of Michaud and Nakajjigos parents are a reflection of the suffering they have gone through plus the loss of Nakajjigos future income and fundraising abilities, Chang said. Human rights activist Esther Nakajjigo, 25, died on June 13, 2020, when a traffic control gate blew into her rental car at Arches National Park in the US state of Utah. What if he hadn't suggested the trip to Arches? There have been gate accidents across the country, including another one on federal government property in 1980 in which a camper in California was impaled by a U.S. Forest Service road closure gate. They argued that had employees installed the gate properly and secured it with an $8 padlock, Nakajjigos death could have been prevented, This decision serves as a reminder of the importance of proper maintenance and safety measures in our national parks, so as to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, Michaud said in, on Monday. 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Denver7's Lance Hernandez reports. The last thing she said to him was, "Babe, I had the best time of my life." Esther Nakajjigo and Ludovic Michaud at Arches National Park in eastern Utah. Nakajjigo donated her own college fund to start a hospital, Berndt said; she raised money for charities and never took a salary. FILE Delicate Arch is seen at Arches National Park on April 25, 2021, near Moab, Utah. But an attorney for her parents and husband said they were grateful for the judgment, which represents the largest federal wrongful death verdict in Utah history, the Associated Press reported. in the two-plus years since his wife, Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo, was hit and killed by an unsecured gate while the couple was leaving Arches National Park. Later, his chin trembled as Nelson delivered the government's apology. The National Park Service has not commented in relation to the new lawsuit but has previously released a statement expressing sympathy for the young womans death. Michaud was the last plaintiff witness in the civil trial over the June 13, 2020, death of his wife, Esther Nakajjigo. Attorney Randi McGinn, representing Nakajjigos family, on Monday asked the family to leave when he described the death in gruesome detail. The claim she served is legally required before a lawsuit can be filed in court. She was always willing to help, he said. They stipulate, however, that the plaintiffs should be awarded $22,508 for Nakajjigo's funeral expenses and $5,000 for Michaud's therapy expenses. The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a prominent Ugandan human rights activist killed in Arches National Park in 2020. Nakajjigo worked on fundraising to open a hospital in an underserved part of Kampala, Ugandas capital, became a philanthropic celebrity and immigrated to the United States for a fellowship at the Boulder, Colorado-based Watson Institute for emerging leaders. In opening statements Monday in Salt Lake City, their attorneys said they were seeking $140 million (115m) in damages from the government accounting for Esther's earning potential. Michaud and his in-laws are asking a federal judge for $140 million. Even simple tasks like cooking rice stored in a jar that Nakajjigo bought before her death feel paralyzing, he said. But on June 13, she and her husband needed a break from quarantine and headed toward Arches National Park in Utah. The family of a women's rights activist from Uganda has filed a $270 million administrative claim against the National Park Service after she was killed by an . The 25-year-old human rights activist and newlywed wife. Lorsque vous utilisez nos sites et applications, nous utilisons des, authentifier les utilisateurs, appliquer des mesures de scurit, empcher les spams et les abus; et. The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a prominent . Nothing we can say makes up for your loss. It impaled their car and decapitated Nakajjigo. Just as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S., Michaud, a video streaming technology solution architect who is originally from France, and Nakajjigo decided they wanted to marry. ", In 2020, Ludovic Michaud was driving with his 25-year-old wife Esther Nakajjigo out of Utah's Arches National Park to get ice cream on June 13 when a metal gate swung into the car and cut her head off, according to a wrongful death administrative claim obtained by NBC News. "This act of selflessness went viral throughout Uganda, and she was featured in numerous magazines and news publications. She added that the plaintiffs' assumption that Nakajjigo would have taken a salary "far in excess" of most nonprofit CEOs is "simply contrary to everything the court has heard about her," Berndt said. I really wanted to show her Arches, he told Fox 13. "For want of an $8.00 basic padlock, our world lost an extraordinary warrior for good; a young woman influencer who was destined to become our society's future Princess Diana, Philanthropist Melinda Gates or Oprah Winfrey," read the initial claim from Nakajjigo's husband and family. According to a court filing, the National Park Service and Arches National Park created a lethal and undetectable danger with the gate, which turned a metal pipe into a spear that went straight through the side of a car, decapitating and killing Esther Nakajjigo.. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. Esther Nakajjigo was a Ugandan human rights activist and newlywed wife when the 25-year-old was killed at Arches National Park in 2020, decapitated by an unsecured gate that is now at the center of a wrongful death trial. For this work, the United Nations Population Fund gave her the Woman Achiever Award. They were driving toward the exit when suddenly a gust of wind lifted a metal gate and the arm swung into the roadway. SALT LAKE CITY Ludovic "Ludo" Michaud has tortured himself with a lot of "what ifs?" The women's rights activist from Uganda was 25 when, during a camping trip to Arches National Park in June 2020, she was beheaded by a metal gate that blew closed in strong winds and sliced through the side of the car she was riding in. Esther Nakajjigo, a 25-year-old Ugandan activist who'd moved to Colorado in 2019 to attend the Watson Institute in Boulder, died June 13, 2020, while visiting the park with her husband of two The family of Ugandan philanthropist Esther Nakajjigo, who was decapitated by a traffic gate in front of her husband in Arches National Park in Utah, has been awarded $10.5m. sltrib.com 1996-2023 The Salt Lake Tribune. Mail that Nakajjigo has continued to receive after her death has been a stark reminder of the life they should still be enjoying together. Monday's closing arguments focused heavily on the differences in testimony made by several economic experts, two of whom projected that Nakajjigo would have earned at least $9 million in her lifetime and the third who estimated Nakajjigo would have made between about $750,000 and $938,000. Yet park employees could have done a lot, the claim alleges, including taking note during inspections of the gate that it posed a danger and putting an inexpensive padlock on it. The trial gave me and Essies family members an opportunity to tell Essies beautiful story, and it was so important to me to have the chance to stand up and speak for this amazing woman.. Esther Nakajjigo was beheaded after the wind whipped a metal gate round cutting into the passenger side of the car, Esther Nakajjigo with her husband Ludovic Michaud, A picture of the gates that led to the young woman's death. "The National Park Service has, in fact, known for decades that an unsecured metal pipe gate creates an undetectable hazard and dangerous condition," the claim states. Its a fear of erasing her, I guess, when you use something that she bought or that she ate or that we did together.. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax Newlyweds Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo, 25, and Ludovic "Ludo" Michaud, 26, were driving to get ice cream during a camping trip June 13 when a metal gate blew closed in strong winds and sliced . Nakajjigo, 25, was a Ugandan human rights activist and moved to Colorado in 2019 to attend the Watson Institute in Boulder. He spoke, too, about the difficulty of sending his wife's body to Uganda in a cardboard box; how only her hands, one of them broken, were visible at her funeral; and how he moved to a new apartment after the accident, unable to bear the reminders of the life he'd shared with Nakajjigo. A family is getting $10 million in the wrongful death of Ugandan human rights activist Esther Nakajjigo, who was decapitated by a swinging metal gate in Arches National Park, Utah. The familys lawsuit claims when the national parks reopened in April 2020 after being shuttered due to Covid-19, rangers at the national park in Utah didnt secure the gate in place, which in effect turned a metal pipe into a spear that went straight through the side of a car, decapitating and killing Esther Nakajjigo. The metal gate at Arches National Park, normally secured with a lock, was left untethered. On June 13, she was needlessly decapitated by a metal gate that swung into the couples car as they were exiting the Arches parking lot on their way to go get ice cream, according to a wrongful death administrative claim exclusively obtained by NBC News. Nakajjigo created a reality TV show that helped child mothers stay in school and develop life skills, according to The Denver Post. At age 17, she used her college tuition money to start a nonprofit community health center, which provided free reproductive health services to young women and girls. Updated: Jan 31, 2023 / 03:49 PM MST. Ms Nakajjigo worked to improve education and rights for women and teenage girls in her home country of Uganda and advocated to reduce rates of teenage pregnancy. 45 Join Insider . Ms Nakajjigo met Mr Michaud after she relocated to the US, where she was awarded the Luff Peace Fellowship by the University of Boulder in Colorado. Ms Chang described the part of the gate that struck Ms Nakajjigo as being like a metal spear or a lance and hit the car in literally a split second. Berndt also said her team can take into account only Nakajjigo's education and earning history at the time of her death, exclusive from the money she raised for charitable organizations. Her mother flew to Utah from Uganda to attend the trial this week. At age 17, she used her college tuition money to start a nonprofit community health center, which provided free reproductive health services to young women and girls. The family of Esther Nakajjigo accused the National Park Service of negligence for not properly securing the metal gate that killed her. As they were leaving the park on June 13, 2020, heavy winds apparently blew the metal entrance gate into the passenger side of the vehicle, striking and killing Nakajjigo. There is a lot of small things I miss.. The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a . Esther Nakajjigo and her husband, Ludovic Michaud, pose at Arches National Park on June 13, 2020. By age 25, when she died, she had accomplished more than most people do in an entire lifetime and had much more to do with her life, court documents state. Picture: Handout The family of a women's rights activist who was decapitated in an accident on a trip with her new husband has sued the US government agency responsible for the park where she died. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. It alleges that if park employees had properly installed the gate to not swing into oncoming traffic or placed an $8 padlock on the gate to secure it from moving in the breeze, the world would not have lost a young woman influencer destined to become our societys future Princess Diana, Philanthropist Melinda Gates, or Oprah Winfrey.. Nous, Yahoo, faisons partie de la famille de marques Yahoo. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her. Nakajjigo and her husband Ludovic Michaud were vacationing in eastern Utah, visiting the region's national parks months after their wedding. Instead, Michaud met his wife's family -- who traveled to the States from Uganda -- for the first time just before the trial started. Chang expects to file the lawsuit in about six months. SALT . Esther Nakajjigo was driving with her newlywed husband on their honeymoon in Arches when an open road gate was swung by strong winds into their rental car. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Estimated read time: 5-6 The wind whipped a metal. It claims three other people have died from similar incidents involving gates in the last 32 years. Nakajjigo had been celebrated for using money earmarked for her college tuition to instead open a nonprofit community health center in Uganda at age 17. The smaller projection takes into account only the averages of a statistical black woman, she said; while the higher projections factor in that Nakajjigo was a real, extraordinary person.