NOT An Act of God...??
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2003 5:15 pm
I SEE THE LIGHT
by Randy Cassingham
Shawn Perkins of Laurel, Ind., took his family to Paramount's Kings
Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio, on 12 June 2001. As they left the
park to go to their car, a thunderstorm was approaching. As the family
reached the car, lightning struck and "the car [Perkins] was touching
was
blown apart," claims the family's lawyer, Drake Ebner.
Um, a lawyer for a lightning strike? Yep. This was no "act of God",
Ebner says. "That would be a lot of people's knee-jerk reaction in
these
types of situations, frankly," he says, clearly expecting criticism
over
the suit. He says the amusement park has "a duty of ordinary care" to
warn visitors of any foreseeable danger, and the Perkins were not
warned
about the storm. The amusement park "could have told the people not to
go
to their cars," he says, "which are large metal objects that can
attract
lightning."
(He didn't happen to mention that cars are isolated from the ground
by
tires, which are medium-sized rubber objects that insulate things. But
I
digress.)
"A lot of voltage passed through his brain," Ebner says. His suit,
filed in Hamilton County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court, says that as a
result
of the lightning strike Perkins is suffering from brain damage, which
has
resulted in a "cognitive deficit and severe memory loss". Perhaps not
surprisingly, Ebner notes Perkins also has a fear of being outside.
"We believe that the weather system was predictable," Ebner
continued.
"Therefore, the risk and injury to Mr. Perkins was predictable and
therefore avoidable." If the park didn't know about the storm, he adds,
it should have known, perhaps by subscribing to a weather prediction
service. "If you are a multimillion-dollar business, wouldn't you?"
Ebner
asks. However, he quickly adds, "I'm just not mentioning [the park's
multimillion-dollar gross income] for the concept of deep pockets for
the
suit." Oh no -- perish the thought! Such a thing never entered our
minds.
(Really! We swear! May lightning--- well... strike that idea.)
"Think of the amount of money Kings Island spends to get people to
the
park," he says, lingering on the money issue. "Safety is not common
sense." It's not?! No, he says: "You and I don't run amusement parks."
(Speak for yourself, chum.) "Because they are in the unique situation
they are in -- that says they need to do things that you and I don't
do."
Like, say, knowing to take cover in a thunderstorm?
SOURCES:
1) "Family Sues Kings Island", Cincinnati Post, 17 June 2003
http://StellaAwards.com/cgi-bin/redirect3.pl?35a
2) "Kings Island Sued by Family", Cincinnati Enquirer, 19 June 2003
http://StellaAwards.com/cgi-bin/redirect3.pl?35b
by Randy Cassingham
Shawn Perkins of Laurel, Ind., took his family to Paramount's Kings
Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio, on 12 June 2001. As they left the
park to go to their car, a thunderstorm was approaching. As the family
reached the car, lightning struck and "the car [Perkins] was touching
was
blown apart," claims the family's lawyer, Drake Ebner.
Um, a lawyer for a lightning strike? Yep. This was no "act of God",
Ebner says. "That would be a lot of people's knee-jerk reaction in
these
types of situations, frankly," he says, clearly expecting criticism
over
the suit. He says the amusement park has "a duty of ordinary care" to
warn visitors of any foreseeable danger, and the Perkins were not
warned
about the storm. The amusement park "could have told the people not to
go
to their cars," he says, "which are large metal objects that can
attract
lightning."
(He didn't happen to mention that cars are isolated from the ground
by
tires, which are medium-sized rubber objects that insulate things. But
I
digress.)
"A lot of voltage passed through his brain," Ebner says. His suit,
filed in Hamilton County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court, says that as a
result
of the lightning strike Perkins is suffering from brain damage, which
has
resulted in a "cognitive deficit and severe memory loss". Perhaps not
surprisingly, Ebner notes Perkins also has a fear of being outside.
"We believe that the weather system was predictable," Ebner
continued.
"Therefore, the risk and injury to Mr. Perkins was predictable and
therefore avoidable." If the park didn't know about the storm, he adds,
it should have known, perhaps by subscribing to a weather prediction
service. "If you are a multimillion-dollar business, wouldn't you?"
Ebner
asks. However, he quickly adds, "I'm just not mentioning [the park's
multimillion-dollar gross income] for the concept of deep pockets for
the
suit." Oh no -- perish the thought! Such a thing never entered our
minds.
(Really! We swear! May lightning--- well... strike that idea.)
"Think of the amount of money Kings Island spends to get people to
the
park," he says, lingering on the money issue. "Safety is not common
sense." It's not?! No, he says: "You and I don't run amusement parks."
(Speak for yourself, chum.) "Because they are in the unique situation
they are in -- that says they need to do things that you and I don't
do."
Like, say, knowing to take cover in a thunderstorm?
SOURCES:
1) "Family Sues Kings Island", Cincinnati Post, 17 June 2003
http://StellaAwards.com/cgi-bin/redirect3.pl?35a
2) "Kings Island Sued by Family", Cincinnati Enquirer, 19 June 2003
http://StellaAwards.com/cgi-bin/redirect3.pl?35b
