An elderly man died after a freak elevator accident inside a casino hotel just outside of Las Vegas, a recently filed lawsuit has claimed. 

Theodore Webber, 78, died on November 3, 2025, after he exited an elevator at Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin, Nevada, according to a $2.5 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by his estate last week. 

Webber, of Anthem, Arizona, visited the hotel on October 13, and during his time there, he stepped out of an elevator and 'fell as a result of a hazardous and dangerous condition on the subject premises and/or subject elevator,' the lawsuit obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal stated.

The elderly man was initially paralyzed by the fall and died from his injuries a little less than a month later, the lawsuit claimed.  

Aquarius Casino Resort, Golden Entertainment Inc and an unspecified elevator company were listed as the defendants in the court filing.

Webber's estate is suing for wrongful death, negligent hiring, training, supervision and retention. It is also claiming res ipsa loquitur, which means circumstantial evidence could be admitted in court. 

The legal doctrine translates to 'the thing speaks for itself,' and it is used in civil cases when an accident would generally not happen without negligence, was caused by variables solely within the defendant's control and the plaintiff did not contribute to the cause, according to the Cornell Law School. 

In the lawsuit, an attorney for Webber's estate said they do not know how the accident at the casino resort occurred because Golden Entertainment has been 'uncooperative' with requests for incident reports and surveillance footage of the fall. 

The estate claims it only filed the suit because of the alleged lack of cooperation from the company, the attorney added.

Webber’s wife, Mary Miller, has been left without closure or answers to questions about how her husband suffered the accident that paralyzed and killed him, said Daniel S. Simon of Simon Law in the court filing. 

In total, Webber's estate is seeking more than $2.5 million in damages. That figure is just for past medical, funeral and incidental expenses.

The estate is also seeking more than $15,000 for general, punitive and compensatory damages. 

It is also seeking more than $15,000 for past pain, suffering, disfigurement, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life, and an additional sum in excess of $15,000 for past and future grief, sorrow and loss of probable support. 

On top of all that, the estate wants the cost of the lawsuit to be covered and is seeking any additional relief the court deems to be just and proper.

The lawsuit is currently pending in Clark County District Court, which has issued summonses for Aquarius Casino Resort and Golden Entertainment Inc. 

The next step is for the defendants to respond in court. 

Golden Entertainment Inc, on behalf of itself and Aquarius Casino Resort, declined to comment on pending litigation after the Daily Mail reached out.