I'm not going there with the exploitation thinking. I think the family is absolutely broken hearted.
This is a loving family and now this little boy is without his mother and he watched it happen.
It sounds like there was some negligence regarding safety measures on that boat.
Quite frankly I may very well sue too, under the same circumstances.
You'd sue the County where the lake was located, because they have a lake? The Water District that built the dam? Because that's what they're doing.
I can see suing the boat rental place. But wilderness places are "at own risk."
If the family prevails, look for all recreational lakes in California to close to recreational use (as many have wanted to do anyway, the various water districts make nothing off of the recreational use and only get the pain and worry of dealing with people getting lost in and around the lakes).
If the boat rental place didn't insist that there be individual flotation devices on board, I think that's negligent. However, it seems really a stretch to hold the boat rental place responsible for whether or not the participants used the flotation devices. And I doubt that a jury in Ventura County would do so (a rather conservative county - I grew up there).
Lake Piru is responsible for 12 drownings since 1994, it seems. My mom and dad regarded people who went into that particular lake (to swim) as imprudent, but I had an uncle who boated there all the time. It's unusual for someone to drown while boating. I'm guessing poor Naya did not realize how hard it is to get back into a boat in the middle of that deep lake (where there are is also considerable muck on the bottom and very low visibility - most of the drownings happen just off shore, sometimes while wading).
//Due to harsh conditions such as
debris, low
visibility, different currents,
whirlpools, strong winds, and cold water temperatures, a number of fatalities related to
drowning have occurred at Lake Piru// (from Wikipedia).
I think the County will certainly close it if this lawsuit is successful (against the Water Conservation District, which will be bankrupted by this lawsuit and at a time when the County is very much struggling with water issues).
Update: I just read that Lake Piru is now closed to swimming. Boating, jet skis only, no getting out of the boat. Water temp at 10 feet under the surface in July was probably around 60-65, perhaps cooler, as the area did not have a hot summer.
At any rate, if counties are now going to be held responsible for rental agencies following rules about safety, that's going to take a lot of personnel to patrol and cite and eventually shut down. I suspect most counties will simply ban boat and waterski rentals. What a world we live in. Don't get me wrong: this particular concession should be shut down (but they aren't being sued directly, as I understand it, because...they have no assets; deep pocket theory at work here).
In future, only people who own boats will be able to use lakes, harbors and oceans. IMO.
i just knew that poor baby cried himself to sleep :*(