Local YMCA defends lifeguards involved in wrongful death claim

A local YMCA is defending its lifeguards after a La Quinta man drowned under their watch. A wrongful death claim was filed against the organization, the city of Palm Desert, and the National Park Services.

The Coachella Valley Family YMCA Executive Director, Rob Ballew, told KESQ & CBS Local 2’s Lauren Coronado that the team of life guards on duty resuscitated the man before he was rushed to a local hospital.

“Our life guards are well trained, they’re Red Cross certified, they have all the first aid requirements, they practice drills all the time. We couldn’t ask for a better staff here. They handled the situation very well,” Ballew said, “It (the claim) caught all of us by surprise. One, no one died in the pool. A person had some issues here (Palm Desert Aquatic Center). He was taken out of the pool, resuscitated, went through all the motions of everything that needed to be done, CPR, and was taken to the hospital by EMT with a pulse.”

Tom Jaskulski, 72, of La Quinta, was getting a diving license recertification with the National Park Service at the Palm Desert Aquatic Center in March. According to a claim filed by lawyer, Dan Bolton, who’s representing the Jaskulski family, Tom went into cardiac arrest while swimming and died several days later at a nearby hospital. Bolton says oversight from the lifeguards on duty is responsible for Tom’s death.

“The lifeguard oversight, both by the city of Palm Desert and by the National Park Service was just not there, wasn’t adequate, and the sorts of things that he was showing while swimming should have been obvious clues that something was seriously wrong,” said Bolton.

Jaskulski had decades of experience in diving with several nationally recognized dive teams, including the Riverside County Sheriff’s Dive team and the National Park Service Dive team.

“Tom left that morning to, what we all assumed would be a routine swim test and he’d be back later that morning to be with his family, so when they got that phone call it was extraordinarily difficult and painful and it has been these last months, because I think the consensus is, this was preventable,” said Bolton.

“They did their job, what was supposed to be done. We’re very sorry about the family and their loss, but as far as knowing that our staff did the right thing, we did,” Ballew said.

We reached out to the city of Palm Desert who says, pending litigation, they are not commenting on the matter. We also left messages with the National Park Services but have not received a response.

Stay with KESQ & CBS Local 2 for any new developments on this on going case.