A French family whose 19-month-old daughter died of a fentanyl overdose while staying at an Airbnb apartment during a vacation in Florida, USA has issued the vacation rental company and the property owner over the toddler’s death.
Lydie Lavenir booked four-bedroom, two-bath lake house in the affluent residential neighborhood from August 6 to August 9, 2021, for a family vacation for herself, her husband and their five children, the suit says.
19-month-old Enora played and relaxed with her siblings and took a nap with her older sister on one of the beds of the home the following morning. Yahoo reports.
More than an hour into the toddler’s nap, Lydie Lavenir went to check on her and ‘found her unresponsive and foaming at the mouth,’ prompting cries and screams for help, according to the suit, which was filed in December.
She performed chest compressions on the child and the family called 911. Enora was taken to HCA Florida Palms West Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Her death was deemed to be the result of exposure to fentanyl according to reports by the Palm Beach County medical examiner and an independent toxicology report, according to the Post.
It’s unclear how the girl came into contact with fentanyl – a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine – or where it came from at the rental, as investigators were unable to find any traces of fentanyl at the rental home or on the parents’ belongings.
According to the Post, an investigator wrote in the latest report, ‘I am currently unable to determine how the child Enora Lavenir ingested the fentanyl.’
The Lavenir family has now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Airbnb, the vacation homeowner, and the prior renter following their daughter’s death from an accidental fentanyl overdose.
They allege the rental company and vacation homeowner failed to ensure the safety of the property, and claim the prior renter was negligent in allowing drugs to be used at the property and leaving behind drugs or drug residue.
The lawsuit alleges that while the Airbnb listing advertised the unit as a ‘peaceful place to stay,’ it had a history of being used as a party house.
But investigators were reportedly unable to link those drugs to the girl’s overdose and her death has been deemed accidental.
An Airbnb spokesperson in a statement said ‘Our hearts go out to the Lavenir family and their loved ones for this devastating loss.’
The prior renter who booked the rental home through Vrbo admitted to police that they had hosted a party at the property where cocaine was present.
Enora’s father, Boris, recalled the terror of hearing his wife when she found their daughter unresponsive.
‘Then I heard, “Enora is dead! Enora is dead,'” he told NBC Nightly News.
