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Andy Goldwasser Quoted in Lorain Journal |
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August 03, 2004
ELYRIA -- Splash Zone, Lorain County Metro Parks' water park in Oberlin, has been sued for allegedly omitting the weight limit on warning signs for a waterslide and causing the death of a 31-year-old Cleveland woman, according to court documents.
Donna Herring visited Splash Zone on
West Hamilton Street in August 2002 and was a rider on the park's 24-foot-high outdoor waterslide, according to court documents.
Posted in the park are safety guidelines developed by the slide's manufacturer, Splashtacular, Inc., according to attorney Andy Goldwasser, who represents Herring's husband, James Herring.
Splash Zone posted 15 of Splashtacular's 16 warnings word for word, omitting only one -- ''Maximum operational load 1 person, 300 pounds,'' according to Splashtacular and Splash Zone warnings provided by Goldwasser.
At 410 pounds, Herring rode the park's slide and upon a face-first impact with the water needed immediate assistance from lifeguards, according to a report by Lorain County Coroner Dr. Paul Matus.
Herring complained of shortness of breath and almost immediately collapsed in the water, according to Matus' report.
Herring was rushed to EMH Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead less than an hour after riding the slide, according to the report.
Matus noted her cause of death as ''sudden cardiac death due to blunt impact,'' but also found that Herring had cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, according to the report.
Matus could not be reached yesterday to confirm whether cardiomegaly played a part in Herring's death.
Herring's family filed the complaint in
Lorain County Common Pleas Court against the park district and Splashtacular because their ''negligence and maliciousness ultimately resulted in the premature and wrongful death of Mrs. Herring,'' according to court documents.
James Herring is seeking in excess of $25,000 ''for punitive and exemplary damages against defendants in an amount that will punish them and deter them from acting in flagrant disregard of the safety of others in the future,'' according to the complaint.
Besides the 300-pound weight limit, Splashtacular's warnings include that riders must be in good health with no heart conditions, said Steve Levine, a company officer.
Levine, who said yesterday he was unaware of the incident until informed by The Morning Journal, said the company's job is to provide on-site training and safety guidelines for the safe and consistent operation of their waterslides.
Levine, who has been an officer with Splashtacular since its opening 10 years ago, said it is each individual park's responsibility to properly post warning signs for waterslide use.
''They certainly did not have our approval for this,'' Levine said.
Lorain County Metro Parks Director Dan Martin said the waterslide is still open, and Herring's death remains an isolated incident at Splash Zone.
Martin said he was unsure if the posted signs did in fact omit the weight-limit warning and did not know if they had been changed since the incident.
''It is unfortunate, but she had a heart condition as the coroner's report states,'' Martin said. He referred all other questions to the Metro Parks' attorney Jim Klimer.
Klimer would not comment on the case other than to say it would be ''defended vigorously.'' |
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