SFKK and Lasitters Reach Settlement

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27844667/

I am glad both parties can move on with life.

Good news indeed. Lifetime care makes sense.

Wow. I can't say that I saw that one coming!

It must be a great fear of Six Flags as we know it disappearing. I thought the Lasitters were committed to taking this one to court strictly on principle.

I hope the settlement was agreeable and equitable. And I'm glad it's finally over.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Sounds fair. The only problem I see as some lawyer or insurance numbskull trying to get the girl killed to end her "lifetime" a bit early. I don't want to sound cruel, but it might happen.

It's nice that they were able to reach an agreement and prevent a long ugly legal proceeding. Now hopefully both parties can move forward. Since the settlement is confidential, we'll probably never know the details, but I'm glad for everyone that it is settled.

The only problem I see as some lawyer or insurance numbskull trying to get the girl killed to end her "lifetime" a bit early.

So she should avoid rides by Intamin? ;)

mOOSH (too soon?)

I guess the real possibility of SF going into chapter 11, helped prompt an early settlement. Perhaps Shapiro took a moral decision as well, to say, lets make sure we don't further shaft this family.

So she should avoid rides by Intamin? ;)

Nope. Just avoid any SF rides and stay out of restricted areas so she doesn't loose her head. :)

Surprising. It must be a pretty large paycheck for them, as they seemingly were more interested in the principle of the matter than the payoff. The girl deserves it. Good for her.

Didn't Shapiro make some statement in Six Flags' recent quarterly financial announcement about shaking the noose of debt that has been holding back growth at that company? And didn't I see some analysis that suggests that it implies either a Chapter 11 filing or a massive stock offer to dilute the debt?

I don't know what happens to lawsuits when a company declares Chapter 11, but I have to wonder if that threat had anything to do with the Lasitter's decision to settle. And I'm pretty sure it was probably their decision; I expect Six Flags was probably willing to settle more than a year ago, and it seemed that this was going to trial on pure principle.

I'm glad it's over, and I'm glad that Kaitlyn will be provided for. This should have happened a long time ago.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

^I think at some point the parents became more concerned with Kaitlyn's ability to "put it behind her and move on". I'm pretty sure that had the accident resulted in a fatality, they would have persisted in order to get all the facts out. Probably the wise choice for their daughter's sake, and not a decision made lightly.

Presumably Six Flags' insurance is doing the pay out, not the company itself.

And it's only "over" for Six Flags. That kid has to deal with it the rest of her life.

True, Jeff, but that's a different battle. Dealing with Six Flags is a distraction from that battle that I'm sure they really don't need. In that sense, it's over for them, too.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

The "going rate" for a lost limb is around a million per, so I'd guess the monetary portion would be around 2 million. Could be higher since they had been telling the public that they wanted to go to trial.