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People to People Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit

16-year-old died in Tokyo after allegedly being refused medical attention

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

June 22, 2009

Tyler Hill (Family photo)

The parties involved in the wrongful death lawsuit involving a Minnesota teenager who died on a 2007 People to People trip to Japan have settled the case, ConsumerAffairs.com confirmed today.

The terms of the settlement in the case Sheryl and Allen Hill filed after their 16-year-old, Tyler, died on the People to People Student Ambassador trip are confidential and must be approved by the judge hearing the matter in Minnesota’s Hennepin County District Court. The family’s attorney, Charles Hvass, declined to comment. The Hills could not be reached for comment.

The Hills' lawsuit alleged that People to People’s Student Ambassador group and its delegation leaders refused to get Tyler the medical attention he requested and charged that his June 29, 2007, death in Tokyo was the result of their negligence. Tyler suffered from Type 1 diabetes and complex migraine headaches — conditions his family disclosed before he went on the overseas journey.

But the travel organization that touts its ties to President Dwight D. Eisenhower convinced the family that it had a solid safety record and a 24-hour response team that could handle any medical emergency. That promise laid the foundation for the lawsuit, which alleged that no one with the organization responded to Tyler’s pleas for medical attention when he became sick after hiking Mount Fuji.

After that climb, the Hills alleged, Tyler asked his delegation leaders to take him to the hospital. He said he had altitude sickness. But People to People's delegation leaders refused his request for medical treatment, told him to "work through it," and sent him to his hotel room with water, according to the family’s lawsuit.

People to People International An Investigative Report by Lisa Wade McCormick • Introduction • P2P: Ambassadors or Tourists? • P2P CEO "Mortified" • Parents Object to Student Lists • Not Everyone's Happy with People to People Trips • Fast Facts About People to People International • Update 12/06: It Happens Again • Deceased Cat Invited to be Student Ambassador --- News about P2P • People To People Leaders Allegedly Drank Beer While Student Was Dying • American Teens Go Missing on People to People Trips • People to People Parent Company Faces Securities Class Action • People to People Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit • People to People Uses Dead Student's Name as Recruiting Tool • Feds Asked to Probe Student's Death on People to People Tour • Student 'Ambassador' Dies Neglected & Alone • People to People Invites Dead Girl ... Again • People to People Executive Sentenced to Prison • People to People "Clarifies" Its Invitation Policy • Student Travel Service Still Misleading Parents • Student Travel Service Agrees To Modify Marketing --- • Consumer Complaints • Consumer Compliments

The lawsuit also stated that People to People failed to contact the Hills about Tyler's illness.

Sometime around 4 a.m. on June 27, 2007, Tyler's condition deteriorated and he started vomiting blood. Around 7 that morning, People to People's four delegation leaders learned about Tyler's failing health. But they again refused to seek any medical treatment — even though he requested that attention "because he had been vomiting blood since four o'clock in the morning."

The delegation leaders also failed again to contact Tyler's parents, the lawsuit alleged.

For the next ten hours — from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. — People to People's delegation leaders allegedly left Tyler alone in his room without any medical attention. According to the lawsuit, People to People did not seek any medical attention for Tyler until he was found unconscious in his hotel room — sometime around 6 p.m. on June 27, 2007.

A few hours later, one of the delegation leaders notified the Hills that Tyler was in the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center. The delegation leader also told the family that Tyler's heart had stopped beating for more than an hour, that he was then resuscitated and had been put on dialysis.

Tyler died two days later.

"They killed him,” Sheryl Hill told ConsumerAffairs.com when her family filed the wrongful death lawsuit. “This was involuntary manslaughter, neglect, and abandonment."

The Hills filed their lawsuit against Ambassadors Group, Inc., People to People Student Ambassador Programs, People to People International, a United Kingdom organization called docleaf Limited, two of its employees — Larry McGonnell and Dr. David Perl — and the four delegation leaders on Tyler's trip: Susan Stahr, Pat Veum-Smith, Josh Aberle, and Angela Hanson.

Earlier this year, the Hills reached a confidential agreement with the non-profit People to People International, based in Kansas City, Missouri. The remaining parties in the case reached a confidential agreement during a mediation hearing earlier this month, according to the Hills' attorney.

In a statement released today, Jeff Thomas, president and chief executive officer of Ambassadors Group, Inc., said his organization accepted some responsibility for Tyler’s death.

“Through hindsight we can see that there are steps that all of the leaders should have taken that could have prevented Tyler's death on June 29, 2007, during a trip to Tokyo, Japan, and regret that they were not taken,” said Thomas, who is also chief executive officer of Ambassador Programs, Inc. “We are very sorry for Tyler's death and the Hill Family's loss and the impact it has had on many. We continue to review all policies surrounding students with pre-existing conditions, including diabetes protocols, to refine our procedures.”

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