Elijah Knight (Courtesy photo)

The parents of a 14 year old from Texas who died in June 2018 when a tree fell on his tent at a camp near Covington filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America and the Greater Atlanta Council of Boy Scouts in Cobb County State Court Tuesday.

The 27-page complaint seeks compensation for the loss of life of Elijah Knight, plus punitive damages. Courtney and Stephen Knight allege that Scout leaders ignored severe thunderstorm warnings from the National Weather Service and failed to move all the campers to a nearby building for safety. Elijah was left in a canvas tent during a storm with strong winds, lightning and hail.

The Boy Scouts have a registered agent in Cobb County. The council shared the following statement:

“This is a very difficult time for our Scouting family. We offer our deepest condolences to the victim and his family, and we will support them in any way we can. The safety of our Scouts is our number one priority. Please join us in keeping those affected by the tragic accident during last summer's severe storms in our thoughts and prayers.”

The name of the Boy Scouts' attorney has not been entered into the record.

The Knights' attorney is Jeff Harris of Harris Lowry Manton in Atlanta and Savannah.

“Sadly, this is not the first time a death has occurred at the Bert Adams Scout Camp,” Harris said in a statement Tuesday. Harris cited the Cobb County father and son who died in 1999 of carbon monoxide poisoning after they moved a grill into their tent to keep warm, as well as the Cobb County teenager crushed by a tree there in 2017.

“We believe the Boy Scouts do not have adequate policies in place to keep kids safe and that Elijah Knight's tragic death could have been prevented by following simple weather-related procedures,” Harris said.

Elijah was an honors student at his school in Harris County, Texas. He was working toward the rank of Eagle Scout, following in his father's footsteps.

The camp occupies 1,300 acres in Newton County, just east of Atlanta, and is accredited annually by the Boy Scouts of America National Camp Accreditation Program, according to the lawsuit.

“Bert Adams Scout Camp has over 80 staff members who are trained in compliance with Boy Scouts of America safety requirements including but not limited to the Boy Scouts of America Guide to Safe Scouting, the Sweet Sixteen of Boy Scouts of America Safety, the Boy Scouts of America Scouter Code of Conduct and the Bert Adams Scout Camp General Policies for Camp Use. Boy Scouts of America Policies and Practices,” the lawsuit said. “The Boy Scouts of America's motto is 'Be Prepared!' Safety is a critical component of being prepared.”

The complaint quotes the Boy Scouts of America Guide to Safe Scouting Lighting Risk Reduction policy, which follows the National Weather Service's recommendation: “Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!”

Yet the parents allege that the camp failed to react to a National Weather Service severe storm warning for 100 counties, including Newton. “Isolated storms will be strong to severe, with the main hazards damaging winds, frequent lightning and isolated flooding from heavy rainfall,” the warning, on June 25, 2018, said, according to the suit. “Hazardous Weather Outlook advised that this storm pattern was forecast for the next seven days.”