Yet Another Incident: Metal Fatigue, Structural Failure & Installation Woes Cited In Law Suit
Three children were injured by a water attraction made by the same company that has been retained to design and build the controversial Caribbean Splash Waterpark in Barbados.
A lawsuit has just been filed on June 30, 2006 by the family of one of the children – alleging that the girl suffered serious brain and nerve injuries at an Illinois water park on June 27, 2005.
According to the Collinsville Herald, the WhiteWater West Industries “Monsoon Mountain” has a bucket that dumps 700 gallons of water onto the children playing below, but a 15 pound piece of metal also came down onto three of the children enjoying the day at Splash City Family Water Park in Collinsville, Illinois.
This story by Chad Morelli appeared in the Collinsville Herald…
Investigators will take a close look this week at Splash City’s Monsoon Mountain, after a piece of the roof came off and injured three children standing below.
The Splash City Family Water Park closed the attraction Monday afternoon immediately following the accident. Usually, guests are able to enjoy the Monsoon Mountain area, where a 700-gallon bucket dumps water onto those below.
The attraction will be closed for at least a week while investigators try to find out why a large piece of metal on the roof became dislodged and fell to the ground below, hitting a number of children, park officials said.
“This is the first time anything like this has ever happened at the park, and so we are taking it extremely seriously,” said the Executive Director of the Collinsville Area Recreation District Mark Badasch, “We won’t re-open that area until we are 100 percent certain that it’s safe.”
The park, owned and operated by the recreation district, opened in 1998 and has an impeccable safety record, Badasch said. The park is still open to the public and will operate normally through the rest of the summer, he said.
Investigators will be combing through every inch of Monsoon Mountain this week in hopes of discovering why the piece of metal came off the roof. That piece weighed roughly 15 pounds and measured about 1-foot-by-5-feet, Badasch said.
“At this point, it would be irresponsible to even hazard a guess as to why that piece fell off,” Badasch said. “We’ll leave it up to the investigators.”
WhiteWater West Industries of British Columbia manufactures the Monsoon Mountain attraction and the company will be sending down investigators to take a look at the structure, Badasch said. In addition, those who installed the attraction in July of 2003 may also be asked to examine the area.
Of the three children who were injured, two suffered minor wounds while the third was cut badly on the head by the falling metal. Badasch said he didn’t know if the families involved had hired lawyers and he wasn’t sure if there would be a lawsuit.
“Even if there was, I wouldn’t be able to comment on it,” Badasch said. “Right now, our main focus is trying to figure out why that piece came off the roof and making sure that it never happens again.”
A more recent story in the Madison Record tells of the law suit and futher describes the incident. Excerpts from the Madison Record article…
Splash City Sued By Injured Girl’s Father
The father of a girl who was injured at Splash City Family Water Park in Collinsville filed a personal injury suit in Madison County Circuit Court.
…Tim Wyrostek claims his daughter Aliza suffered a head wound and trauma to her brain and nerve tissue while at the park on June 27, 2005.
She was on the Monsoon Mountain water slide when a five-foot section of metal crashed down on his daughter without warning, according to the complaint…
Wyrostek claims Splash City allowed people to use the structure when it knew of the dangerous condition and engaged in willful and wanton conduct by demonstrating a reckless disregard for the safety of others by failing to prevent harm after knowledge of an impeding danger.
According to Wyrostek, Splash City knew or should have known of the potential failure of nuts and bolts holding into place metal sheets above the patrons…
Wyrostek also claims co-defendant Schaefeges Brothers improperly installed Monsoon Mountain while allowing Splash City to assume it was safe and failed to inform Slash City of the danger of the structure’s design regarding the fatigue to anchoring nuts and bolts leading to a dangerous condition.
He also claims Schaefeges Brothers intentionally disregarded taking the necessary steps in the installation of Monsoon Mountain to ensure the safety of those using it…
read the entire article here.
The above information was sent in by “Rosa” – a Bajan expat and BFP reader from Missouri who stated, “Do some Google searches on WhiteWater West Industries. You could do an article a day for the next month on water park problems and safety…”
Thanks Rosa. We’ll look into the issues in a little more detail… but it might have to wait a bit until our real life doesn’t get in the way.
photo of Splash City Family Waterpark, Collinsville, Illinois taken from the Madison, St. Clair Record. Fair trade for the link.
Recent BFP Barbados Caribbean Splash Waterpark Articles…
WhiteWater West Waterslides “Problematic, Cracking” Kansas
Two Weeks Since Water Park Developer Told Of Private Meeting With Prime Minister Owen Arthur
Caribbean Splash Designers On A Bad Day – 1 Dead, 34 Injured
Caribbean Splash Waterpark Developer Laments Barbados Town Hall Meeting
All Previous BFP Barbados Caribbean Splash Waterpark Articles…
For the complete listing of Barbados Free Press water park articles, click here.
