A former Atlanta Hawks official got flesh-eating bacteria in Tampa Bay, lawsuit says
A Florida man is seeking damages in a lawsuit that alleges flesh-eating bacteria in Tampa Bay infected and caused extensive permanent injures to his body, court records said.
Robert “Bob” Williams and his wife, Ailey Penningroth, filed the lawsuit together on Sept. 22 in Hillsborough County’s circuit court against Bay Breeze Paddle Adventures, which rents kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, court records said.
The Tampa Bay Times first reported the lawsuit.
According to court records, Williams rented a single-person kayak in February.
Williams said he told the rental company’s agent there was an issue with the seat back. The agent told Williams, “Oh, I can fix that,” the lawsuit alleges, before reaching behind Williams and messing with the seat back before telling Williams, “OK, it’s secure now, you’re set to go,” court records said.
Williams claims in the lawsuit that the seat back collapsed suddenly minutes after paddling away from the dock, which caused him to fall backwards into the Tampa Bay brackish waters in the channel between the dock and Harbour Island.
According to court records, Williams could not get back into the kayak and swam with it to the dock, where the agent did not respond to his calls for help. That led Williams to swim east under Harbour Island Bridge, where he found another floating dock.
While pulling himself onto it, he scraped and cut his lower extremities on barnacles and oyster shells submerged several feet underwater, the lawsuit said.
Williams arrived back at the rental offices, where he showed the agent his bleeding extremities and asked for a refund, which was not granted, and Williams walked approximately a quarter mile back to his home, according to the lawsuit.
The next day, Williams had flu-like symptoms, and a 911 call brought an ambulance to transport him to Tampa General Hospital, the lawsuit said.
Court records said Williams was diagnosed with septic shock, sepsis due to an organism, necrotizing fasciitis, bacteremia and vibrio vulnificus, which required surgery and other medical treatments that left him with permanent injuries.
Necrotizing fasciitis is a “is a rare bacterial infection that spreads quickly in the body and can cause death,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bacteremia is also known as blood poisoning and happens when bacteria is in the blood or there’s an infection in the blood, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Vibrio vulnificus is a naturally occurring bacteria in saltwater or brackish water, especially in the warmer months. It can act as a flesh-eating bacteria, the CDC said, when it comes into contact with an open wound. Vibrio bacteria also occurs in raw or undercooked seafood, which can cause serious illness or death when eaten.
“If you have an open wound, there’s the old saying, ‘Go into the salt water and wash your wounds out,’” USF professor in the Department of Integrative Biology Dr. Valerie Harwood told the Tampa Bay Times. “Do not ever do that. Especially if there is a possibility the water is brackish because that’s where these bacteria live and will enter your body.”
Manatee County has had two deaths and two cases of vibrio vulnificus so far this year, according to the Florida Department of Health, and Tampa’s Hillsborough County has recorded three cases.
A report out Wednesday from one of the best-known medical journals, The Lancet, said the amount of coastal water in which harmful bacteria can live has increased 56% over the past few decades.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Williams is a 68-year-old sports and entertainment consultant, who is a former president of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
Tips for preventing vibrio vulnificus
- Do not eat raw oysters or other raw shellfish.
- Cook shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels) thoroughly.
- For shellfish in the shell, either a) boil until the shells open and continue boiling for 5 more minutes, or b) steam until the shells open and then continue cooking for 9 more minutes. Do not eat those shellfish that do not open during cooking. Boil shucked oysters at least 3 minutes, or fry them in oil at least 10 minutes at 375°F.
- Avoid cross-contamination of cooked seafood and other foods with raw seafood and juices from raw seafood.
- Eat shellfish promptly after cooking and refrigerate leftovers.
- Avoid exposure of open wounds or broken skin to warm salt or brackish water, or to raw shellfish harvested from such waters.
- Wear protective clothing (e.g., gloves) when handling raw shellfish.
— Florida Department of Health
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "A former Atlanta Hawks official got flesh-eating bacteria in Tampa Bay, lawsuit says."
