Court finalises convictions over Tervise Paradiis drowning

The convictions of Tervise Paradiis and its on-duty instructor over a drowning at the Pärnu water centre have become final, ERR reported on Monday.

In June, Tallinn Circuit Court found the company and instructor Gert Kuusik guilty of causing death through negligence. Kuusik was sentenced to one year and three months in prison. The sentence will not be fully enforced if he does not commit a new intentional offence during a probation period of one year and six months.

The court fined Tervise Paradiis OÜ 50,000 euros.

Tervise Paradiis appealed the ruling to Estonia’s Supreme Court, but the court refused to hear the defence’s appeal. The circuit court’s decision is therefore final.

On March 11, 2023, a man drowned at the Tervise Paradiis water centre in Pärnu after being pushed into a four-metre-deep pool. According to the charges, the visitor did not receive timely assistance that could have saved his life.

Prosecutors alleged that the company’s senior instructor had assigned an administrator working at the water centre to replace an absent on-duty instructor, despite the administrator lacking the necessary training and skills.