Ryan Dorsey has filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the 5-year-old son he shares with ex-wife Naya Rivera.
The Glee actress, who died over the summer during a boating outing with her son Josey at Lake Piru in Ventura County, Calif., reportedly has postmortem representation.
According to TMZ, Dorsey claims the boat she used that fateful day did not comply with safety standards.
“[The boat was] not equipped with a safely accessible ladder, adequate rope, an anchor, a radio or any security mechanisms to prevent swimmers from being separated from their boats, nor any flotation or lifesaving devices,” said Ryan’s attorney Amjad Khan. If the statement is accurate, this is a violation of California law, the gossip website reported.
Read More: Naya Rivera autopsy shows no sign of drugs, alcohol
Ryan also mentions in the lawsuit that there were no warning signs posted at Lake Piru and the person who rented the boat to Rivera did not advise her to wear a life vest.
Josey was thought to be missing on July 8, but a rescue team discovered him alone, drifting on the boat in the Lake. He later recounted the last moments of his mother’s life.
As theGrio previously reported, Rivera “put her arm up in the air and yelled ‘help,’” before she “disappeared in to the water.”
Rivera and Dorsey married in 2014 but called it quits less than five years later. They divorced in 2018. The two remained amicable co-parents to their son, and after her death, Dorsey expressed deep gratitude for their time together.
The lawsuit also notes that at least 26 other people have drowned in Lake Piru since its recreational facilities opened, and what’s more shocking is that 43 days after Rivera’s disappearance, the man-made reservoir reopened to the public.
Read More: Naya Rivera lifted son in boat, cried for help before drowning, autopsy says
More than 12,000 people signed a petition a month later, demanding more warning signs for swimmers, specifically that the lake has debris under the water’s surface.
Rivera was 33 at the time of her death, and is the third actor from the Fox music series Glee to pass away. Mark Salling, a former boyfriend of Rivera, died by suicide in 2018 and Cory Monteith died of a drug overdose in 2013.
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