Mom of surfer who died from "brain-eating amoeba" files $1 million lawsuit
Waco, Texas -- A mother whose son died from a "brain-eating amoeba" after visiting a Texas surf resort in September is suing the park for over $1 million, CBS affiliate KHOU reports. A lawsuit filed last week by Rita Stabile claims her son, Fabrizio Stabile, was at BSR Cable Park and Surf Resort's surf pool when the amoeba got into his nose and went to his brain, causing the 29-year-old's death.
The lawsuit alleges the park's blue-green dyed waters "masked a pathogen soup" that allowed the amoeba to thrive, the Associated Press reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Waco-McLennan County Public Health district said testing found evidence of the extremely deadly but rare amoeba -- known as Naegleia fowleri -- at one of the park's attractions.
Naegleria fowleri is a single-celled living organism commonly found in warm fresh water such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs and soil. The Naegleria fowleri ameba can enter a person's nose and head to the brain, where it destroys tissue, according to the CDC. Infection can lead to a condition called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a disease of the central nervous system, which is almost always fatal, CBS News' Ashley Welch has reported.
The lawsuit Rita Stabile filed alleges Stabile's death could have been prevented if park owners exercised ordinary care in the water park's operation, KHOU reported.
Health officials said the park is once open again for business after it put in a new water filtration system. Officials said the surf park opened in March, KHOU reported.