Jan 29, 2008 7:12 pm US/Central
Family Suing Exchange Program After Son Dies
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ―
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This picture of Tyler Hill was taken at Mt. Fuji, just before he reported becoming ill.
CBS
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The family of Tyler Hill, 16, of Mound, said program officials were aware that he suffered from Type I diabetes and complex migraines.
CBS
The family of a Minnesota student who died in Japan last June filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against the People to People exchange program and a related company, alleging they failed to get him prompt medical care when he became seriously ill.
The family of Tyler Hill, 16, of Mound, said program officials were aware that he suffered from Type I diabetes and complex migraines. But they allege that group leaders refused Hill's requests for medical attention after he began vomiting blood, left him alone in a hotel room for 10 hours, and failed to notify his parents or doctors that he was sick.
"All four of these premier leaders that we were told were specifically selected and first responders, CPR trained were all in Tyler's room and they left him there for 10 hours," said Sheryl Hill, Tyler's mother.
Hospital officials said the youth's death could have been prevented if he had received the immediate medical care he requested, the family said in a statement.
The family also alleged that People to People International and its student programs falsely represent themselves as being founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. They say Ambassadors Group International, a for-profit corporation, bought the rights to the name around 2002, and manages and markets the programs.
People to People International lists Eisenhower's granddaughter, Mary Eisenhower, as its president and chief executive officer. The family says she sold the rights to the name to Ambassadors Group.
According to the complaint, filed in Hennepin County District Court, Hill became severely ill after his group hiked up Mount Fuji. It says group leaders went to his room at 7 a.m. on June 27 after he asked for medical attention because he had been vomiting blood since 4 a.m. But they left him alone and didn't summon medical help until sometime after 5 p.m., the complaint alleges.
Hill was taken to the Japanese Red Cross Hospital in Tokyo, where he was pronounced dead two days later.
The Kansas City, Mo.-based group declined to comment on the allegations.
"We are deeply saddened by the death of Tyler Hill last summer and the entire People to People Ambassador Program organization continues to grieve for his family," Jeff Thomas, CEO of the People to People Student Ambassadors Program said in a statement. "We are reviewing the terms of the lawsuit put forth today by the Hill family and cannot comment further about the case at this time."
The lawsuit seeks in excess of $50,000 in damages, plus $30,000 for funeral expenses and $6,750 for the cost of Hill's trip.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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