Mound family's wrongful death suit is close to closure

A Mound family, whose teenage son died after climbing Mount Fuji in Japan in 2007, has agreed to settle with the travel company. The deal needs a judge's approval.

By SARAH LEMAGIE, Star Tribune

Last update: June 22, 2009 - 9:28 PM

A Minnesota family has reached a settlement, pending court approval, in a wrongful-death lawsuit they filed after their 16-year-old son died in Japan two summers ago.

Tyler Hill suffered altitude sickness and vomited blood after climbing Mount Fuji on a June 2007 trip with the People to People Student Ambassador group. His parents, Sheryl and Allen Hill of Mound, said he begged group leaders for medical help, but was left alone in his room for hours.

He died at the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, thousands of miles from his family.

Last week, his parents reached a resolution with the travel group's parent company, Ambassadors Group, in a lawsuit filed in Hennepin County.

The family said that trip leaders who knew their son was diabetic could have easily averted his death. The Hills also alleged breach of contract, fraud and false advertising, among other claims.

Spokesmen for the family and the company declined to comment Monday on the terms of the settlement, but Ambassadors Group President Jeff Thomas said in a statement that the company was "very sorry" for the teen'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. ... and [we] regret that they were not taken," he said. The company is reviewing its policies about students with preexisting conditions such as diabetes in an effort to make improvements, he said.

The company, based in Spokane, Wash., will not be adversely affected by the settlement, he said.

Hill, an MVP rugby player who also played football and hockey, had just finished his sophomore year at Mound Westonka High School when he died.

He suffered cerebral and cardiac edema after climbing Fuji, according to his mother.

The suit named Ambassadors Group as well as individual "delegation leaders" and sought reimbursement for $6,750 in payments for the two-week trip, along with unspecified damages.

A judge has not yet signed off on the pending resolution, but that could happen in the next week or two, family spokesman Paul Omodt said Monday.

Sarah Lemagie • 952-882-9016

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