A New Jersey man whose wife was killed in a horrific hippopotamus attack last year during a safari in Africa is suing the U.S. company that arranged the trip, alleging it failed to ensure their safety and did not adequately screen and supervise the tour guides.
Craig and Lisa Manders were on a guided walk in Zambia in June when a hippo charged out of the water, grabbed Lisa Manders by its mouth and crushed her head and body with its bite, according to the lawsuit filed against African Portfolio, a safari tour company based in Greenwich, Connecticut. The company denies the lawsuit's allegations.
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The lawsuit, filed Feb. 5 in Stamford, Connecticut, alleges that as a horrified Craig Manders watched the attack, the tour guides — including at least one armed with a rifle — walked away without helping the couple. Lisa Manders, 70, suffered catastrophic injuries and died shortly after, the lawsuit says.
“We’re doing this because this should never have happened,” said Paul Slager, an attorney who is representing Craig Manders with his law partner, Nicole Coates. “There are basic safety standards that businesses are expected to follow, and that includes people in the safari tour industry. And those were not followed, and the consequences here were absolutely devastating.”
Slager said the lawsuit seeks monetary damages that have not yet been determined, as well as accountability for Lisa Manders' death and keeping others safe in the future. He said Craig Manders was not giving interviews.
The Manderses, of Cranford, New Jersey, were on a special anniversary trip and it was their first time in Africa, Slager said. Lisa Manders had worked in the financial industry for over 40 years and loved cooking, traveling and visiting New York City, where she was born in Queens in 1953, according to her obituary. The couple had three children and a granddaughter.
The company's lawyer, Rodney Gould, said it was not negligent or reckless in connection with Lisa Manders' death. He said African Portfolio only arranged the couple's lodging and the owners of the lodging, Chiawa Safaris in Zambia, provided the tour guides.
“It’s a horrible tragedy when somebody goes on one of these trips and is injured or killed. It’s awful,” Gould said. “I think it’s important to understand what African Portfolio’s role in this is. It’s a tour operator. It arranges trips. It puts together the pieces.”
He added, “My client didn’t conduct the safari. It arranged it. It booked all the components.”
Gould also said the company was not negligent in vetting Chiawa, because it has an excellent reputation. He said African Portfolio will either ask a judge to dismiss the lawsuit or request that the matter go to arbitration, which was a condition of an agreement the Manderses signed for the trip.
In a statement, African Portfolio did not directly address the lawsuit. It said Chiawa arranged the walking safari and guests were accompanied by an experienced and highly trained guide, a ranger and an armed National Park scout. It said Chiawa told authorities that safety measures were implemented before the attack and “repeated warnings” were issued to guests to return to the safety of the vehicle “during the incident.”
Asked whether the guests were warned about the hippo before the attack, African Portfolio said in an email only that “the statement is an accurate reflection of the events as we understand them.” Gould declined to comment.
The company also said its founder flew to Zambia immediately after the attack and joined Chiawa's owner in ensuring that “everything possible was being done to support the family and all those involved. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the family, and everyone else involved in this tragic incident.”
The lawsuit, which does not mention Chiawa, says African safaris are “inherently dangerous activities” because of the unpredictability and sometime aggressive nature of wild animals, and they require careful planning and execution to be completed safely. It says African Portfolio vetted and oversaw the tour guides and vouched that they were competent, qualified and trained to keep people safe.
The suit alleges that African Portfolio “encouraged and/or permitted” the Manderses to be exposed to an “avoidable and highly dangerous encounter with a dangerous hippopotamus in the Zambian wilderness.” It also accuses the company of failing to provide safe conditions during the wilderness walk and failing to ensure that the tour guides were adequately selected, screened, supervised and trained to provide a safe experience.
African Portfolio also failed to take adequate steps to protect the Manderses before and during the attack, the suit alleges.
Hippos are the world's second-largest land mammals after elephants, measuring about 11 feet (3.5 meters) long and about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall, according to International Fund for Animal Welfare. The average male hippo weighs about 7,000 pounds (3,200 kilograms).
Hippos are known to be territorial and aggressive at times. A year before Lisa Manders died, seven people were killed in the southern African nation of Malawi when a hippo charged into a canoe and capsized it on a river. Estimates of how many people are killed by hippos each year vary, with lower figures beginning at around 500.
Lisa Manders suffered “significant premorbid fear and emotional pain, suffering and mental anguish” before her death, the suit says. Craig Manders suffered severe and debilitating emotional and psychological injuries that have made it difficult for him to cope with daily routines, it says.
The lawsuit is seeking damages on allegations of negligence and recklessness.
“He’s suing both for the loss of his wife and the impact that has on him and his life," Slager said. “And he also has a claim for having witnessed what happened to her, having seen the attack, which is unthinkable. It’s unimaginable.”