Stranger Risks Life to Save Girl from Drowning – She Later Sued Him for Carelessness

A young man was chilling at a California beach when he saw a girl drowning offshore. He risked his life and rescued her, but the outcome ended in a lengthy and expensive legal battle after she sued him.

Redditor hobviously was a trained swimmer and had all the certifications in possession to make him a lifeguard. However, he followed an entirely different career path. He didn’t put his swimming skills to practice until one day when he saw a girl drowning from afar.

In 2007, the Original Poster (OP) was chilling at the beach with his friends. Moments later, he noticed a girl struggling offshore. In his knowledge, she was beyond the point of being thrust back to the beach by the waves. The OP realized it was an emergency call for help.

As he glanced closely, he could see the girl’s head barely afloat. He looked around, but the lifeguard was away on a break. With each passing second, the girl’s life was nearing a horrific end, and he had to think fast. The OP explained:

“She was getting further and further from the shore by the second. I’m a good swimmer. I raced to her.”

At the time, he didn’t think of anything else than bringing the girl to the shore. He swam as fast as he could to make it to her on time.

The OP realized the girl was on the brink of drowning as she’d already swallowed plenty of water. He tossed her on his back so that she remained above the water level. He added:

“I risked my own life because my weight with hers could have been too much. But I made it.”

After making it safely to the shore, he sighed relief and thought he’d done a good deed saving her life. A few days later, the attorneys reached out to him, claiming the girl had sued him.

The OP later found out that she’d sued him for around $150,000, claiming he should’ve turned up to save her much earlier.

The OP said he would risk his life again to save her another time and flee without revealing his identity.

“I learned later that she had to spend three days at the hospitals, couldn’t afford it, tried to sue the beach owners, but her case was rejected, but she still sued me,” he explained. Though the case did not get very far, he felt let down. He then turned to the “Ask Me Anything” community on Reddit that emphasizes Q&A sessions from guests.

After reading his post, several users sided with the OP and even suggested he send her a card to commemorate he’d saved her life. One Redditor added:

“You should send her Christmas Cards every year...“Just thankful we’re both alive to celebrate another Christmas! I wish you a safer and prosperous New Year! PS: Be careful when swimming next summer!”

The OP responded the idea might work but said he didn’t want to do anything with the woman. Some people like Redditor aveeight were surprised the case even made it to court and pressed the OP for more details.

The user posted a question in the thread that read: “Surprised that even made it to court - what did it end up costing you in legal fees?”

The OP’s act of good faith ended in a lengthy and expensive legal battle of around $3,500. Meanwhile, some asked him what he would do if he spotted the same woman drowning again. The OP said he would risk his life again to save her another time and flee without revealing his identity.

“Let’s say I see the exact same girl drowning again. What would I do? What would I honestly do? I think I would save her again. Even if I know that by saving her, I might get sued again,” he added.

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