Grandmother Drowns in Horrific Theme Park Accident, Family Sues

It was September 5, 2011, when the Forbes family attended Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Arlington, Texas, when tragedy struck. Allen-resident Linda Forbes had been enjoying the park with her family that day when she was pulled from the “Lazy River,” an attraction that is described on Hurricane Harbor’s website this way:

“Sometimes, it’s fun to be lazy. Kick back and float or tube along this easy-going river that gently cruises at a current of three miles per hour.” The “Lazy River” is depicted in an image as a large, linear pool in which patrons can float lazily on various floating devices such as tubes.

When Forbes, a 64-year-old grandmother, was pulled from the water, park employees came to her aid and began chest compressions, according to a summary in The Dallas Morning News (9/7/13). With the victim lying on her back, a mask was placed over her face in an effort to force oxygen into her lungs. The mask, however, proceeded to fill with water, presumably from the victim’s lungs. Forbes was finally rolled over onto her side only after a guest at the park, who was also a paramedic, instructed employees to do so, preventing water from re-entering the victim’s lungs.

According to the horrific theme park accident report, park employees also brought a defibrillator in an effort to revive the victim. However, the defibrillator failed to activate. The lawsuit notes that a locked exit, which was closest to the victim, may have prevented the victim from being transported to the hospital in a timely manner.

Forbes was pronounced dead as the result of the amusement park accident at Arlington Memorial Hospital later that evening.

Amusement Park Deaths are rare, but also real byproducts of the amusement park experience. Safety advocates place a great deal of emphasis on regular inspections and maintenance, as well as sound design principles to maximize the safety of patrons.

And Theme Park Accidents occur at both fixed installations, such as Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, and traveling installations that are a popular feature at state fairs.

In 1979, according to The Dallas Morning News (9/28/13), a gondola from the Swiss Skyride attraction dislocated and plummeted 80 feet to the ground, killing one bystander and injuring 15 other patrons attending the Texas State Fair that year. Four years later, a rider was killed and 16 other patrons were injured - two seriously - after a spinning car on the Enterprise ride dislocated from the ride and crashed into the midway.

Both Amusement Park Deaths resulted in multimillion-dollar lawsuits. However, the tragedies also fostered more stringent management and inspections of thrill rides at state fairs. While the Enterprise ride was inspected by a representative of the insurance company and deemed safe before it was opened to riders during the Texas State Fair of 1983, a more thorough inspection following the Horrific Theme Park Accident revealed fractures in the Enterprise’s steel frame that might have been detected had a more thorough inspection taken place prior to the ride opening to the public.

Jim Sinclair, deputy general manager of the Minnesota State Fair, told The Dallas Morning News that in Minnesota inspectors are on-site 24 hours a day for the entire run of the State Fair. Inspectors perform constant spot checks and review daily inspection reports. “The level of exposure that comes with a state fair operation like in Dallas or here [St. Paul, Minnesota] or Milwaukee is such that you want that layer of inspection,” he said in comments published in The Dallas Morning News.

“We have the risk.”

As for the amusement park death of Forbes, The Dallas Morning News says that her death was not reported to the Texas Department of Insurance because the Lazy River is not licensed as a ride per se - although the park’s water slides are. For an unlicensed ride, there is no requirement to report a death or injury, according to the report.

On the Hurricane Harbor website, the Lazy River is listed as a family ride. The amusement park lawsuit continues.

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Source: Lawyers and Settlements (Gibb, 10/19)

Swimming Pool Accidents

It’s that time of year when the 6 o’clock news leads far too often with the most tragic stories about childhood drowning deaths, near deaths, and injuries. Just this week, there was the news about the son of singer Usher nearly drowning in the family’s pool. The statistics are sobering.

According to the Centers for Disease Control: Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States.

To help parents better understand the complexities of these cases, the Texas swimming pool accident lawyers offer these answers to five common swimming pool liability questions.

1. Who is liable for injuries in a swimming pool?

It depends on who gets injured, how they were hurt, and who owns the pool. In Usher’s case, had his son died or sustained permanent brain damage due to lack of oxygen, the pool manufacturer (and the drain manufacturer) might be liable if they knowingly built a drain without enough safeguards to protect children from getting stuck in it. Because these types of products liability cases are so difficult and are unique to each case, it really depends on what happens and why. If, on the other hand, a kid is running around the pool area irresponsibly, slips and falls and gets injured, then absent some argument that the pool surface area lacked proper friction, then the kid is likely out of luck. Additionally, if you drown in your own pool because you fall in as a result of a fainting spell, you’re also out of luck, since there is no causal link between the pool construction and your fainting.

2. What should a homeowner do to limit their liability for injuries in their pool?

The single biggest thing you can do is to provide reasonable care to secure the pool. In this case, reasonable care means complying with local laws and ordinances regarding security. This way, if a child sneaks into your backyard and into your screened back pool enclosure, then drowns in the pool, your liability will be limited or nonexistent if you can establish that you complied with all laws, got your pool inspected, etc. On the other hand, if you know that a child sneaks in, and more importantly know how they do it, you could be liable if you fail to take what the law says are reasonable steps to stop the child. For example, say you learn that a child learns the code to your backyard electronic access gate, you need to change the password. Alternatively, if the kid climbs or crawls through a hole in your screen to access your pool, then you need to get the hole fixed, otherwise you may be liable even if you follow other standard procedures, because the law will say you knew, or should have known, that the child could access your pool a number of different ways.

3. What if the injury was caused by the negligence of the swimmer?

Most likely you are off the hook. However, if you know the person swimming doesn’t know how to swim, and you leave them alone, you may be liable for their injuries because you had advance knowledge that they lacked meaningful swimming ability. On the other hand, a homeowners association can be liable for injuries to a swimmer if the swimmer was part of an organized activity occurring on association property. Here’s an example: One day I saw a van full of kids on summer camp pull into our community, head to the pool, and proceed to swim for a few hours. I was outraged because a homeowner gave the camp permission to swim in our pool as part of an organized activity. Our association wasn’t insured for injuries that occurred as a result of an organized activity, and I immediately had the association inform the homeowner not to allow this activity anymore because we weren’t insured for it. As a result, if a kid got injured during this organized activity, the association would have had to pay the injured family directly, resulting in a special assessment against every homeowner.

4. Are the laws different for public swimming pools?

Absolutely. Community pools are held to a different standard because they are designed for public use, and as such, they need to have different safety precautions in place to accommodate a large number of swimmers, as opposed to your backyard swimming pool that is used by just a few people.

5. What about if there’s a lifeguard or a “swim at your own risk” sign?

Merely posting a sign saying you are swimming at your own risk wouldn’t eliminate the risk to the pool/drain designer in Usher’s case, because the liability arises from the design of the drain, not from the swimming. But, in some cases, this kind of disclosure (a “swim at your own risk” sign) may relieve the pool owner of some liability.

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source: abc15.com (Fischer, 08/13)

Summer is here and so is the potential for swimming pool accidents

It's finally summer, and in 100+ degree weather there is no doubt one would rather feel the freshness, coolness, and wetness of swimming instead of hot, sticky, and sweaty.  Even though a pool keeps one cool and relaxed, those who own their own pools are at a high risk of accidents.

In some cases, 1 out of 4 swimming pool accidents are non fatal, but serious enough for the victim to be hospitalized. Swimming pool accidents can lead to brain damage, memory problems, and learning disabilities.  The sad truth is that most accidents end in drowning.

Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental injury-related death among children ages 1 to 14, and every day about ten people die from unintentional drowning (2 of those 10 being children under the age of 14). Drowning can occur due to circulation entrapment, which is when a victim gets one of their limbs, jewelry, hair, or piece of their swimsuit caught by suction ducts that are generated by the water rushing out of the drain from the pool.

For every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries.  Owning a residential pool carries a lot of responsibilities, not only does one have to clean it and maintain equipment, but owners are also responsible for the safety of those who swim in it.  If you have a pool that you share with your neighborhood and/or children's friends, you are liable for their safety, and can be sued if they're involved in a swimming pool accident.

It is suggested to build a four way fence that is at least four feet high and separates the house from the yard for those who have children under the age of 4, to prevent these serious and sometimes fatal accidents.  It is important for the owner to be aware of what is going on around the pool especially if there are children by themselves.

When one leaves the pool, they should take out all toys that are in the swimming pool, thereby reducing the chance of a child to be attracted to the water and risk falling into the pool, just in case there is no security fence installed.  There are many companies that specialize in building pool guards and security fences. Check consumer review websites and be wary of recalled products.  Doing some proper market research on the particular product that best suits your swimming pool will help you protect your family and friends this summer.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a swimming pool accident in Texas, The Cole Legal Group can help you get the compensation you deserve. We have a proven track record of obtaining substantial insurance settlements and jury awards for people hurt or killed in swimming pool accidents. Texans should expect safe swimming pools.

Let our experience, commitment and drive work to get you the money you deserve to rebuild your life. Our commitment to you: We will not be out worked!

Contact us today for a free consultation.

Jury awards $20.6 million in pool slide death

SALEM — A Salem Superior Court jury has ordered Toys "R" Us to pay more than $20 million to the family of a young mother who died five years ago after an inflatable pool slide sold by the national chain partially collapsed while she was using it during a pool party in Andover.

The Banzai Falls in-ground pool slide was never tested to determine whether it met federal safety standards for pool slides before or after it was imported from China by the retailer, a violation of federal law.

The jury's $20.6 million verdict, returned on Thursday afternoon after a weeklong trial and less than an hour of deliberation, is believed to be the largest ever awarded by an Essex County jury and one of the highest in the state this year.

"He'd rather have his wife and his daughter's mother back," lawyer Thomas Smith, of Boston's Sugarman law firm, said yesterday of client Michael Aleo's reaction to the verdict. "He felt that there was a wrong done, and he is pleased that the jury recognized that. This product should not have been sold."

Robin Aleo was 29, married and the mother of an 18-month-old daughter when, during a pool party at the Andover home of relatives on July 29, 2006, she climbed to the top of the 6-foot-high Banzai Falls slide, then started sliding down head-first.

Near the bottom, the slide suddenly bottomed out and Aleo struck her head on the edge of the pool, according to testimony. Her neck was broken, and she was left paralyzed and unable to breathe. She died the following day at a Boston hospital.

The Aleos, originally from Long Island, N.Y., were living in Colorado at the time and were in Andover to visit Michael Aleo's aunt and uncle, Sarah and William Letsky. They had purchased the pool slide the prior month from Toys "R" Us via Amazon's website.

Aleo and others at the party testified that the couple's daughter was present when her mother was pulled, unconscious, from the pool. Michael Aleo attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and told jurors that as he looked at his wife, she mouthed the word "more." But the injury left her unable to breathe on her own, and her condition deteriorated.

Missouri man paralyzed

Robin Aleo was at least the second person allegedly left paralyzed by such an incident on the Banzai Falls slide, of which more than 4,000 have been sold nationwide, according to court records.

A camp counselor in Missouri, Mark Grantham, was left a quadriplegic when the same thing allegedly happened to him on a Banzai Falls slide purchased at a Wal-Mart, according to court documents. His suit against both Wal-Mart and the Chinese manufacturers is still pending.

Jurors were not told about the Missouri case but did learn that the company that Toys "R" Us uses in China to safety-test products before they are imported, Bureau Veritas, was never asked to test the pool slide for compliance with federal safety regulations governing pool slides.

The product was tested for other product safety rules — and twice failed, once for containing lead in excess of federal limits — but not for compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Commission pool slide regulation, a former Toys "R" Us executive acknowledged during testimony on Wednesday.

Lawyers for Toys "R" Us contended that the regulations did not apply to the Banzai slide because it was inflatable, and that they were not responsible for safety testing for compliance with regulations.

They also contended that Aleo had been injured when she attempted to dive off of the slide, and not while she slid down, which was contradicted by witnesses who testified.

While there is a small print warning not to use the slide head-first, federal safety standards required that the slide be tested for such a typical use.

Under those standards, all pool slides are also required to support a load of 350 pounds without "deformation" or giving way. The Banzai slide deforms under almost any weight at all, and the shifting of weight as a user slides down displaces the air at the bottom, making it unable to support any load, a plaintiff's expert witness concluded.

After the trial got under way, two other defendants named in the suit, Amazon.com, which was in a partnership with Toys "R" Us to sell items online, and the manufacturer SLB Toys USA both settled with Michael Aleo for undisclosed sums.

Two calls to the Toys "R" Us corporate public relations department were not returned yesterday.

Sending a message

The jury's verdict included $2.5 million in anticipated lost income from Aleo's apparently successful advertising and marketing career and other actual damages, $100,000 in compensation for pain and suffering before her death, and $18 million in punitive damages.

Essex County Clerk of Courts Thomas Driscoll said his office is still calculating the interest on the judgment but expects that it will be the largest ever awarded by an Essex County jury.

Smith, the attorney for the Aleo family, said he hopes the size of the verdict and in particular the punitive damages sends a message to all retailers and importers "to make sure, not just for toys but for all products, that they comply with our laws and that they are safe."

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source: salemnews.com (Manganis, 10/15)