Gross negligence: Houston family sues Camp Mystic over fatal flooding
TOI GLOBAL DESK | TOI GLOBAL | Nov 14, 2025, 23:32 IST
Gross negligence: Houston family sues Camp Mystic over fatal flooding
( Image credit : AP )
In a wrongful death lawsuit, a Houston family blames Camp Mystic for the death of their nine-year-old daughter in a disastrous flood. The suit charges the camp with gross negligence, lack of safety measures, and disobedience to weather warning. The camp management, however, denies any violation and considers the deaths caused by an extreme natural event.
TL;DR
Mother and father of nine-year-old Ellen Getten have filed a lawsuit against Camp Mystic accusing the camp of ignoring flood warnings and doing nothing to protect children before the Guadalupe River flooded on July 4. 27 campers and staff members lost their lives. The camp, however, rejects these accusations and says that the flooding was an event of the nature that has never been seen before.
The lawsuit alleging gross negligence by the private Christian girls summer camp was filed by the parents of Ellen Getten, a nine-year-old who died when extreme flooding at Camp Mystic happened on July 4. The lawsuit filed in Travis County on Monday is the first among other multiple lawsuits of the same nature that have been filed by families, who are asking for the camp's accountability and calling the fatalities that they say could have been avoided.
The complaint conveys that Ellen was among 27 children and staff members who lost their lives when the tragedy took place due to the sudden overnight flooding of the Guadalupe River. The Getten family accuses the camp of disregarding federal weather alerts, not preparing an evacuation plan, and building cabins in the river areas that were already known to be flood zones.
Jennifer Getten, Ellen’s mother, said the family wants honesty and holding people accountable. She mentioned that when suing, the intention is to stop the tragedies from happening again and that camps should be seriously taking the issue of disaster planning. Ellen studied at St. John's School in Houston and she was an extremely affectionate and loving child. Her parents claim that their life has been completely turned upside down without her and her elder sister is still in a state of shock and cannot understand the situation.
The suit charges that the fatalities were predictable and that the lives of such persons could have been saved. It asserts that the camp severely compromised children's safety by locating the cabins in the districts that were susceptible to flooding while at the same time, looking for the removal of the federal floodplain designations which would have required insurance and more rigorous building regulations. The court documents point to floods that have affected the location since the 1930s and mentions situations where campers had to be moved in 1978 and people were rescued in 1984.
Camp Mystic , through a statement, extends its prayers to the families affected by the tragedy, and attorney Jeff Ray, who is representing the camp, says that the
July 4 event was an unprecedented natural disaster. He said that the water came much higher than in previous years and that there were very few warning signs in the area. Ray also said that the camp will be refuting several allegations in the lawsuit and that co-owner Richard Eastland, who passed away in the flood, was very committed.
The Gettens stated that the camp's communication on the morning of the disaster was very poor.
They said that they got a call telling them that Ellen was missing but that no one told them how bad the flood was. The lawsuit says that at first, the camp was only talking about getting people's things when in fact they should have been telling people what was going on.
The suit claims that the National Weather Service announced a flood watch for the local area on July 3. It further states that a flash flood warning was issued only at 1:14 a.m. on July 4. The plaintiff's statement reads that the Camp Mystic ignored the news releases and, therefore, they evacuated the people as a result of the fire only after it was too late. It points out that the power outages caused the failure of communication devices and that counselors were not allowed to have cellphones with them.
The Getten family is now in favor of a bill that would make it mandatory for youth camps to have evacuation plans, communication protocols, and disaster response training. In addition, they have been raising money to pay first responders and have set up a school fund in Ellen's memory.
The lawsuit is looking for a compensation exceeding one million dollars. The total death toll due to the local floods has gone beyond 130, as per the emergency reports from the area, and a child named Cile Steward is the only one who has not been located.
FAQs
Mother and father of nine-year-old Ellen Getten have filed a lawsuit against Camp Mystic accusing the camp of ignoring flood warnings and doing nothing to protect children before the Guadalupe River flooded on July 4. 27 campers and staff members lost their lives. The camp, however, rejects these accusations and says that the flooding was an event of the nature that has never been seen before.
The lawsuit alleging gross negligence by the private Christian girls summer camp was filed by the parents of Ellen Getten, a nine-year-old who died when extreme flooding at Camp Mystic happened on July 4. The lawsuit filed in Travis County on Monday is the first among other multiple lawsuits of the same nature that have been filed by families, who are asking for the camp's accountability and calling the fatalities that they say could have been avoided.
The complaint conveys that Ellen was among 27 children and staff members who lost their lives when the tragedy took place due to the sudden overnight flooding of the Guadalupe River. The Getten family accuses the camp of disregarding federal weather alerts, not preparing an evacuation plan, and building cabins in the river areas that were already known to be flood zones.
Jennifer Getten, Ellen’s mother, said the family wants honesty and holding people accountable. She mentioned that when suing, the intention is to stop the tragedies from happening again and that camps should be seriously taking the issue of disaster planning. Ellen studied at St. John's School in Houston and she was an extremely affectionate and loving child. Her parents claim that their life has been completely turned upside down without her and her elder sister is still in a state of shock and cannot understand the situation.
The suit charges that the fatalities were predictable and that the lives of such persons could have been saved. It asserts that the camp severely compromised children's safety by locating the cabins in the districts that were susceptible to flooding while at the same time, looking for the removal of the federal floodplain designations which would have required insurance and more rigorous building regulations. The court documents point to floods that have affected the location since the 1930s and mentions situations where campers had to be moved in 1978 and people were rescued in 1984.
Camp Mystic , through a statement, extends its prayers to the families affected by the tragedy, and attorney Jeff Ray, who is representing the camp, says that the
July 4 event was an unprecedented natural disaster. He said that the water came much higher than in previous years and that there were very few warning signs in the area. Ray also said that the camp will be refuting several allegations in the lawsuit and that co-owner Richard Eastland, who passed away in the flood, was very committed.
The Gettens stated that the camp's communication on the morning of the disaster was very poor.
They said that they got a call telling them that Ellen was missing but that no one told them how bad the flood was. The lawsuit says that at first, the camp was only talking about getting people's things when in fact they should have been telling people what was going on.
The suit claims that the National Weather Service announced a flood watch for the local area on July 3. It further states that a flash flood warning was issued only at 1:14 a.m. on July 4. The plaintiff's statement reads that the Camp Mystic ignored the news releases and, therefore, they evacuated the people as a result of the fire only after it was too late. It points out that the power outages caused the failure of communication devices and that counselors were not allowed to have cellphones with them.
The Getten family is now in favor of a bill that would make it mandatory for youth camps to have evacuation plans, communication protocols, and disaster response training. In addition, they have been raising money to pay first responders and have set up a school fund in Ellen's memory.
The lawsuit is looking for a compensation exceeding one million dollars. The total death toll due to the local floods has gone beyond 130, as per the emergency reports from the area, and a child named Cile Steward is the only one who has not been located.
FAQs
- What has Camp Mystic done?
Camp Mystic and its lawyer have denied any fault and have said that the flood was an unprecedented natural event with almost no warning. - What are the families seeking?
Besides the money from the lawsuit, they also want the camp officials to be held accountable and more stringent state safety requirements for youth camps.