Family hurt in Hilton Head trolley crash is taking Sea Pines HOA to court. Here’s why
The father of a 3-year-old girl who was “catastrophically injured” in a Sea Pines trolley crash in May 2018 amended his lawsuit in October to include Sea Pines homeowners, according to court documents.
William Fink’s daughter suffered a broken femur, a fractured left cheek bone, a concussion and the loss of four front teeth after the driver lost control of the trolley on May 11, 2018, according to court documents filed in November in the Beaufort County 14th Judicial Circuit. The trolley crashed into a tree off Lighthouse Road, injuring Fink’s daughter and three others.
Fink, represented by Hilton Head attorney William Jenkins, originally filed suit against Sea Pines Plantation Trolley Co. LLC. Now, Jenkins has amended the suit to name Sea Pines Community Services Associates, the Association of Sea Pines Plantation Property Owners and the advisory board because those organizations at least partly employ the trolley driver — who the suit says is responsible for the crash.
The complaint alleges the driver was negligent. The addition of new defendants comes after the discovery that the trolley company carried only a $1 million insurance policy on the trolley and that CSA employs the driver.
“We had to find some additional insurance because it’s very likely that $1 million in insurance isn’t going to cover everybody,” Jenkins said Thursday. “A million dollars doesn’t go very far.”
The crash was labeled a “medical-related” incident in the May 2018 S.C. Highway Patrol collision report.
Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Matt Southern said last November that the report does not include details of the medical emergency. Collision reports do not typically include that information to adhere to a federal privacy law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
But the addition of defendants opens the possibility of assigning liability to one of the largest property owners associations on the island — one with a $12.5 million budget.
In a statement Thursday, CSA president Bret Martin said, “Our thoughts and concerns continue regarding the wellbeing of those who were involved in the incident. The safety and security of Sea Pines property owners, guests, visitors and staff are of paramount importance to Sea Pines CSA. Our council will provide any and all appropriate responses to the court regarding any filings.”
Other suits from the crash
Pavlina Fink, William Fink’s wife, was also injured in the crash. She sustained a dislocated hip, cracked front tooth and “deep cuts to her chin,” according to her lawsuit, which is separate from the suit involving her daughter.
Pavlina Fink, who is also represented by Jenkins, has sued the trolley company, Sea Pines CSA and the property owners association over her injuries.
“That was the scariest moment of my life,” William told the Island Packet of the ride to the hospital with his daughter and wife. The family was living in Sea Pines at the time of the crash, he said.
The two other riders injured in the crash have also filed suit.
Alison and Paul McGee were visiting from Leeds, England, and suffered broken bones in the crash. They were transported to different hospitals.
In their suit, the McGees allege the trolley driver “leaned down to take a drink from a cup placed on or near the floor of the vehicle, thereby losing control of the trolley and causing it to veer off the road and crash into a tree.”
The allegations in that suit, filed in April 2019, have all been denied by the Sea Pines Trolley Co.
The case is open for mediation — an option outside the courtroom to resolve civil suits instead of or before going to trial — until January 2020.
