Apparently the city of Miami has agreed to pay $ 5 million to the family of a man who drowned. He was attempting to save a woman who had been caught in a riptide. Florida has case law that suggests cities have a duty to advise beachgoers of dangerous tide conditions they either knew about or should have known about. Unfortunately, the city did not have lifeguards or any posted signs at the location of the drowning. In Maryland, there would be a cap on non economic loss damages so this type of settlement might not be possible. Maryland would also address the concept of tort immunity and a distinction between governmental and proprietary function would have to be addressed. Drowning at beach.