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Wife sues after husband killed by vicious swan (photo)
Wife sues after husband killed by swan
Anthony Hensley worked for around 10 years at the Bay Colony Drive complex in Illinois. His job was to take care of a pair of mute swans that were being kept in a pond. Mute swans are often found in ponds in the state of Illinois, as property owners place them there in an effort to keep away migrating geese. But one morning in April 2012 turned to tragedy, as Hensley was killed in a rather unusual work accident.
One of the swans attacked the kayak that the 37-year-old worker was taking place in, causing it to topple. The bird then continued to attack Hensley as he struggled in a vain attempt to return to shore. The man drowned while trying to get out of the pond and divers had to be called in to find his body in the 15 meter deep pond. According to a report from the medical examiner, the death was pronounced as an accident.
Now, two years after the tragic event, Hensley’s wife has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, as well as the apartment complex where the accident has happened. Amy Hensley believes that both the employer and the property complex share partial responsibility for causing her husband’s death. Her lawsuit claims that the defendants either knew, or should have known that mute swans could be dangerous and inclined to attack.
It is actually a well-known fact that mute swans can be very aggressive and territorial. Some swans have been known to attack small watercraft that come too close to them and can be particularly aggressive if they believe that there is a threat to their young.
Amy Hensley is seeking an unspecified amount of damages and is relying on Illinois legislation which states that the owners of an animal may be held liable if the animal causes damage to people or property.
Scene: Hensley drowned in this pond at the Bay Colony Drive condo complex in Des Plaines, Illinois, where he had tended to swans for 10 years
Sources:
Wife sues after husband killed by swan
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/wife-deceased-man-sues-after-swan-kills-her-husband
Wife sues after husband killed by swan
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2014/04/24/05/41/wife-sues-after-husband-killed-by-swan
Illinois woman sues condo where husband died from swan attack
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/woman-sues-condo-husband-died-swan-attack-article-1.1765828
Wife sues after man ‘killed by swan’
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2014/04/24/05/41/wife-sues-after-husband-killed-by-swan