Calif. couple sues after young son dies tragically at Mexico resort

A San Diego couple has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Hyatt Hotels Corporation after their young son tragically fell to his death at a resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 

On the morning of Oct. 11, 2021, James Carter, Anastasia Duboshina and their nearly two-year-old son Nico were staying at the Hyatt Ziva, an all-inclusive beach-front resort. According to the lawsuit filed in the US District Court in Southern California earlier this month, Duboshina was finishing packing her day bag in their ninth-floor room while Carter and Nico explored the area around the elevator bay. Carter allegedly watched Nico approach a glass balcony when “suddenly, Nico vanished.”

“At the exact moment of Nico’s fall, Anastasia was walking out of their room to meet James and Nico and let them know she was ready,” the complaint reads. “She heard a loud, guttural scream from her husband just a short distance away and she immediately realized something horrible had happened to Nico.”

The toddler was pronounced dead at the scene after falling nine stories. 

“We were supposed to come back from the trip and celebrate his second birthday, but we had to plan a funeral instead,” Duboshina told NBC 7 San Diego. “Life’s been a nightmare since.”

A photo included with the complaint shows the balcony in question with an annotation alleging one of the panels of safety glass was missing. “The design of this balcony was all the more dangerous because there were other identical balconies throughout the hotel, including the one attached to the Carters’ room, that did have safety glass panels covering this portion of the balcony,” the lawsuit says. “It is completely reasonable that hotel guests would believe this common room balcony had the same protective safety glass that the identical balconies in their rooms had.”

Carter and Duboshina claim there were no signs or warnings that the glass panel was missing. They are seeking a jury trial.

“The Carters were the exact kind of American guests Defendants sought in marketing the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta hotel: a young, hardworking American couple who built a successful business and had recently started a family,” their lawsuit reads. “… They went on their Mexican vacation
in search of enjoyment, but instead experienced devastating tragedy.”