British family files wrongful death lawsuit against Aria | Casino and games

The family of a British man who died due to diabetic complications while staying at a Las Vegas Strip casino hotel has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the resort and a local medical transportation company, according to court records.

The estate of William Howell is suing the Aria hotel-casino, its parent company MGM Resorts International, Henderson Public Ambulance, two medical transport employees and Roe Security in Nevada state court, alleging that it resulted in Howell’s death from diabetic ketoacidosis in August 2023 year. negligence and wrongful acts committed by the defendants.

The five-count civil suit was filed Thursday in Eighth District Court by Emma Vassallo — a co-administrator of the estate — on behalf of Howell’s two surviving minor sons, Louis and Jack. According to court documents, Vassallo and the Howell brothers live in London.

The lawsuit seeks general, specific, punitive and monetary damages, funeral expenses and attorneys’ fees.

MGM did not respond to a request for comment Friday. The Las Vegas-based company typically refrains from highlighting pending legal issues in the media.

The complaint states that Howell, who has type 1 diabetes, was at Harry Reid International Airport waiting for a Virgin Airlines flight to London on Aug. 30, 2023, when an airline employee noticed he was not feeling well. The flight was delayed due to a medical request.

Community Ambulance Officers Alexandra Gangemi and Dominic Johnson arrived, took Howell’s readings and noted that he had high blood sugar levels. The lawsuit alleges that Gangemi and Johnson “spent no more than two minutes” with Howell, who was confined to a wheelchair, before he electronically signed a medical transport refusal form.

The lawsuit alleges that two public ambulance employees “failed to adequately inform (Howell) of the consequences of not reporting himself, failed to properly assess (Howell’s) mental capacity, and failed to conduct adequate testing.”

Virgin refused to allow Howell to board the flight to London.

From the airport, Howell took an Uber to the Aria Hotel and Casino, where he had stayed earlier. Upon arriving at the Aria’s valet area, Howell reportedly fell while exiting the Uber vehicle and was “visibly unwell.”

Aria security helped Howell into his previous room, but because he had checked out, he was given a new room key at 10:10 p.m. Howell, accompanied by security, entered his hotel room at 10:12 p.m. and the door closed behind him. .

The next day, Vassallo and Louis Howell waited for several hours at Heathrow Airport in London until they learned that Howell Sr. had not boarded the outbound flight in Las Vegas. The family contacted Aria, who sent someone to Howell’s room at 12:24 p.m., after which Howell was found dead, reportedly due to diabetic ketoacidosis.

David Danzis can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 383-0378. Follow AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.