WILDWOOD CREST — The mother of a young man who drowned off Hollywood Beach in Wildwood Crest two years ago has brought a new lawsuit against the borough and the Wildwood Crest Beach Patrol.
Deborah Volm of Marlton is the executrix for the estate of her son, Joseph Volm, who drowned Aug. 6, 2023. The complaint, filed by her attorney Thomas Sacchetta, asks for a jury trial.
Deborah Volm filed a tort claim notice on Feb. 2, 2024, which was denied by Superior Court Judge James Pickering. The judge ruled that the filing came well past the 90-day time frame, which started with the date of the injury. Pickering ruled that there were no extraordinary circumstances that prevented Volm from filing the tort claim.
She claimed that she was waiting for the autopsy report showing that drowning was Joseph Volm’s cause of death. Pickering ruled that Volm did not need to know the result of the autopsy to file a tort claim, writing in his denial, “A plaintiff need not know the extent of the injury, or if the injury is severe enough to sustain a claim against a public entity.”
Pickering said her delay in filing the tort claim indicated she was aware of and contemplating her filing well before she did.
Thus denied, Sacchetta filed a civil complaint Aug. 4 in Superior Court demanding a jury trial. According to the complaint, on or about Aug. 5, 2023, Joseph Volm and his family arrived at the beach at or about Hollywood Avenue in Wildwood Crest, and shortly after arriving, Volm was swept up by a rip current and later found unresponsive. He was pulled out of the water and CPR was administered by the beach patrol. Volm was transported to then-Cape Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The lawsuit claims the “defendant invited and held open its beaches to the Volm family, despite having knowledge of the dangers of the waters and rip currents present at the time, which they failed to warn of.”
The complaint cites three specific counts against the borough and beach patrol: the first being the failure to train, supervise and disciple beach patrol personnel; count two naming a state-created danger; and count three for wrongful death. The lawsuit outlines a number of actions the borough and beach patrol “deliberately” failed to do, such as taking reasonable precautions to protect beachgoers, properly and adequately training and supervising lifeguards, instructing and safeguarding the public with regard to rip currents, and “deliberately permitting the decedent and others to engage in an inherently dangerous activity that was unknown to the decedent.”
The lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees and costs, and any other award the court deems reasonable and just. It also seeks all expenses and damages allowable under the New Jersey Survival Act and Wrongful Death Act, and a jury trial as to each defendant and as to each count.
According to Wildwood Crest Mayor Don Cabrera, the borough is being represented in the case by insurance counsel Michael Barker. The borough uses attorney David DeWeese as its insurance claims coordinator.
Cabrera said the borough would comply with the legal process, but feels bad for Volm’s family and friends. Its attorney, Michael Barker, was not immediately available for comment.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600 x-128.
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