MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The estate of a Dorchester County man who died last year while staying in Myrtle Beach as a Special Olympics athlete filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit Monday against the city, convention center and a hotel management group. Steven Joseph Horvath, 37, was in the city to compete between […]
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The estate of a Dorchester County man who died last year while staying in Myrtle Beach as a Special Olympics athlete filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit Monday against the city, convention center and a hotel management group.
Steven Joseph Horvath, 37, was in the city to compete between Sept. 22-24, 2023. Active in the Summerville Miracle League and a member of the Dorchester Dragons Special Olympics team, Horvath had the “emotional and intellectual capacity of a child,” according to the lawsuit.
The complaint, which was filed in Horry County Common Pleas Court, also names Special Olympics South Carolina, Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel Corporation, IHG Hotels and Resorts and Staybridge Suites Myrtle Beach as defendants.
News13 has reached out to city leaders, hotel companies and Special Olympics officials for comments.
Horvath, who was registered to compete in golf at the Fall 2023 games, was taking multiple medications that were required to be administered at certain times, the lawsuit said. His family and caretakers had provided organizers with his health care information, including his prescribed medications, needs and limitations.
Horvath and two other athletes were staying in a Staybridge Suites room on Fantasy Harbour Boulevard during the weekend of the event, the lawsuit said.
Athletes and coaches arrived at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center for registration between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, the lawsuit said. There was a dinner between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and then Horvath attended opening ceremonies at 8:30 p.m. before he was escorted to his hotel room.
Sometime on the morning of Sept. 23, the lawsuit said Horvath was found unresponsive and “covered in his own vomit” in the hotel room.
“Notably, at no point from the time they arrived at the hotel after the opening ceremony and the early morning hours when Steven was found, did Defendants, their volunteers, chaperones, coaches, employees, nurses, medical providers and/or staff monitor, check on or adequately supervise Steven and the other Special Olympic athletes,” the lawsuit said.
Horvath was later taken to the Grand Strand Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy and toxicology report showed a blood alcohol concentration of .086 at the time of his death, the lawsuit says.
