SAN DIEGO — A San Diego family continues to mourn the loss of their toddler on the 2-year anniversary of his tragic death.
Baby Nico was on vacation with his mom and dad at Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta when the 23-month-old fell to his death from the ninth floor. Court documents show a pane was missing where Nico fell. He didn't live to see his second birthday after falling from the unprotected, floor-level window that was missing its pane. Nico fell onto the concrete deck nine stories below and died.
Now, his parents James Carter and Anastacia Duboshina are suing Hyatt Hotels saying the company must make sure safety standards are followed so that no other family has to suffer the loss like theirs has.
"He was the best thing that ever happened to me, the sweetest boy ever,” Anastacia beamed with pride talking about her son. “This world was so good with him in it.”
James sobbed softly, "We'll never get over it. We still have his bedroom. We couldn't get rid of it. We just couldn't do it." James described the last moments he saw his son alive. "Nico was standing right there in front of me. You couldn't see that there was a missing glass panel. I watched my son die in front of me. Nine stories."
Anastacia added, "I heard this scream by my husband. I had never heard anything like that before, and I knew something terrible had happened."
The lawsuit alleges Hyatt failed to use reasonable care to keep the hotel in a safe condition which, the complaint claims, would have prevented Nico’s death.
James said he thought they had chosen a safe hotel.
"We booked our hotel to stay at a Hyatt, and we booked a Hyatt because we thought there'd be some safety standards there, you know? They preach and promote a family-friendly, safety-oriented hotel and the last thing you expect is a missing balcony window pane on the ninth floor."
The family's attorney Robert Francavilla agrees.
"In what world can a hotel have a glass pane missing on the 9th floor of a high-rise hotel?" he said. "That's their safety. Rather than stay at a fly-by-night place, they stayed at a place they thought paid full-time and attention to safety. Sadly, that wasn't the case."
But the U.S. State Department's website says residents shouldn't expect similar safety standards.
"U.S. citizens traveling to and residing in Mexico should not expect public health and safety standards like those in the United States," the travel section of the site reads.
As James and Anastacia fight for justice for their son, they continue to grieve the beautiful boy who brought so much love and light into their world.
"We're grateful for our time with him, but it's really hard," James said. "Today is the 2nd anniversary of his death and we just came from the cemetery before we got here. It's awful."
Anastacia remembers the limitless happiness Nico brought to his parents life.
"He was a kind, loving, selfless child and he brought so much joy into my life and my husband's life as well," she said.
We contacted Hyatt Hotels for comment on this lawsuit and still haven't heard back. Nico's parents have filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit on his behalf. The attorneys we talked to today say this case could take years to resolve. Nico’s parents say they'll wait however long it takes.
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