Family awarded $1.2 million for death in storm at Kennywood

Picking up on something Joe E mentioned in his post--- is it sufficient for a park to recommend over a PA system that guests take shelter during a storm? Are parks responsible for providing adequate shelter for everyone? What would that entail?

Impulse-ive FYI i work that ride and the exterminator and i know people who worked the day it collapsed the ride was operating thats why 60 other pople where injured and the lady was not pinned near the pittsburg plunge it was actually along the line for the exterminator....thats why when you go to the park at the very beginnning of the line its railing then it truns into fence that used to be fence there also there used to be a fence with a gate from the corner of the whip to the exterminator fence look at the ground you can still see the fence post marks. im not picking a fight or anything i just want to point out the correct facts. And like rather good bear said is it really the parks responsiblillity to provide or even recomend shelter?...i think that just comes down to a courtesy thing

Great Questions, I wish someone had an exact answer because this could very well change the way parks deals with inclement weather, how unlikely or not an event is. Have there been any cases where storms hit parks in the past?

Trying to think of a similar scenario, golf courses have had to deal with lightning strike cases for ages. Like an amusement park, golfers basically pay to use the facilities and the course is liable for pretty much anything. Whether the course is negligent or not is another story. Looking up some of those cases, one case reads….

"a plaintiff can recover from a defendant even where the defendant's negligence coincides with an act of God"

This sounds exactly what the plaintiffs in the Kennywood case look to be arguing.

Furthermore in case....

A golf course can warn golfers of what to do in the presence of lightning, can warn golfers of the approach of lightning by using signals, and can create and maintain lightning-proof shelters.

I’d guess to some extent, an amusement park might be liable for the same reasons if inclement weather were to strike. The lawyer could argue if a park knows a storm is coming they should warn guest and provide shelter, otherwise they are negligent. Unfortunately in Lost Kennywood there is little actual shelter besides maybe Exterminator, food stalls, gift shops, and the bathroom. Even if guests are warned is there really a place to fit a thousands people? Not just for Kennywood but any park.

The difference between a golf course and amusement park is tens of thousands of people. The logistics of it would be a nightmare, even if you believe that parks should provide shelter for everyone in case of severe weather.

You couldn't have one building with only a few doors and expect 20,000 people to funnel in within 15 minutes. So would a park be expected to provide multiple shelters throughout the park within so many feet so everyone would have fast access to shelter? And what if a building can hold 1000 people and 1100 come running up? Do you tell 100 of them to go somewhere else and risk getting sued if they get injured? Or do you squeeze them in, then get sued because someone was injured because the park ignored the capacity of the building?

It's a whole bunch of what ifs. But at what point do you say this isn't realistic either physically or fiscally to do?

I think you just did a pretty good job of showing it's not realistic to accomplish. :) Unless the structure in question was built without a permit and/or not up to code, I don't feel the park should be liable for this woman's death. It was merely an unfortunate act of Nature.

These people are just going for a payday and taking advantage of their daughter's tragic death. I challenge them to build a wood-framed structure that can withstand tornado force winds. Maybe a tornado will strike their home and their roof will blow off and kill someone walking on their sidewalk and they will be forced to pay someone the 1.2 million they were just awarded and then they will see how asinine they are for taking this to court. Fools. **** happens, sorry. Its not gonna bring her back. Maybe since she was still living with mommy and daddy they shouldnt have let her go to Kennywood in the first place. Exactly. I know that was a dumb statement. I bet you're saying, "How could you blame the parents for her death by saying they shouldnt have let her go to the park?" Hey, its not any dumber than blaming the park for a thunderstorm.

Wow, that's a pretty lame first post. You're a really sensitive person.

Its not lame. Its true. Sorry if i'm not such a Mr. Sensitive "lets cry when people die" type of person. I'm a city paramedic, I've seen alot of people die and you cant save everyone. Death is a part of life whether someone gets messed up or they die naturally. It doesnt really phase me; however, I do take issue to people who cant accept the afore mentioned fact about death.*** This post was edited by SteelPhanton64 7/29/2007 11:30:27 PM ***

Which city?

My brother-in-law is FD, a friend of mine is an FD captain, another a paramedic here. I know how people who actually work those jobs deal with death.

Again, which city?

-CO

I don't care what your profession is. How many children have you lost? Don't be a dick.

How much money does it take to bring a child back? Oh that's right, you can't. I can't bring back anyone in my life that's died. People need to learn how to mourn when true accidents happen and then move on. No matter how much money this family is going to get from the park (or whoever), their child is still gone. Having a ton of money isn't going to make them feel better. If it does, they have bigger problems.

That is the process of mourning. You want to assign blame, make someone pay, that's how it works.

Step back and stop judging people who lost a child. No one should have to bury their child, and you don't know a damn thing about what it's like to be in their shoes.

No one should have to bury a child, but millions of people do. I'm sure many children have died from worse accidents than a roof blowing away in tornado-like winds too. Blaming someone and making them pay may be your way of mourning, but I can assure you, not everyone in the world is like that. I may not know what it's like to bury a child, but I've had to bury plenty of loved ones. It sucks. But, like I said, no amount of money will bring that person back or change their memory one bit.

This may sound strange, but you know what my first thought was? Is the Whip O.K. Second thought, When can we get a new roof on the Whip. Third, What other rides were damaged. Forth, when will Kennywood reopen. My next thought was, O crap, someone died. Here comes a legal mess.

I felt sorry for the first 10 min I was in Lost Kennywood the next season, then it was "the Whip is ugly without a roof. when can we get a new one."

If I was hit by the roof and killed, I would have at least died in my fav. place in the world. I have a nice note written that if I die in a park on a ride, DON'T SUE, Get the ride up and running as soon a possible. I died happily.
*** This post was edited by Kennywood_Racer 8/2/2007 1:30:25 AM ***