Potential Legal Settlement Related to 2009 Drowning

Action to install 911 automatic call boxes at two South Haven beaches and paying the family of a man who drowned while rescuing his son, three nieces and nephew is proposed in a legal settlement. In the summer of 2009, 45-year old Martin Jordan of St. Charles, Illinois drowned while trying to save five family members from rough Lake Michigan waters. The settlement calls for the city's insurance provider to provide a cash payment to the family. The city is agreeing to install the call boxes near the piers, one on South Beach and one on North Beach, plus a memorial for Jordan. In 2011, Jordan's family sued the city seeking unspecified damages of more than $25,000. The lawsuit said the city had signs posted to warn swimmers of the risk of rip currents but that they weren't enough of a restriction to swimming the waters.