"Iceman" Wim Hofman not liable for American girl's drowing, court rules

A court in California has ruled that “Iceman” Wim Hof is not responsible for the drowning of a 17-year-old American girl in August 2022, the Volkskrant reports after speaking to the Dutchman’s lawyer and the lawyer representing the girl’s father.

Raphael Metzger found his daughter, Madelyn Rose, dead in the shallow pool behind his house in August 2022. According to him, she was doing Hof’s breathing exercises, which caused her to lose consciousness and drown. Metzger demanded 62 million euros in compensation from Hof and his son, Enahm, who run the company Innerfire BV together. It was a civil lawsuit, so Hof did not risk a prison sentence.

Wim and Enahm Hof argued that they always warn that their exercises should be done sitting or lying on the ground and not anywhere unsafe, like on a bicycle or near the water. Hof’s lawyer, Robert Matsuishi, told the Volkskrant that the court found no indication “that the victim performed the Wim Hof breathing exercises in the swimming pool on 10 August 2022 and that those exercises actually led to her drowning.”

Metzger’s lawyer told the newspaper that the father would appeal against the verdict.