The Interpreter Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 .... The boy was killed on Ye Old Mill, a meandering indoor water ride, on Aug. 3, 2005. His parents, Robert and Elayne Cassara, filed the lawsuit in state Supreme Court in White Plains. A Westchester civil jury began hearing the case at the Westchester County Courthouse last week in front of Giacomo. Former Playland director Joseph Montalto had been the only witness thus far. He testified that he would not have allowed Jon-Kely on the ride had he know [sic] how few trained workers it had.... http://www.lohud.com/article/2009903230378 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 So, what happens during the high visibility trial against Playland Park? http://lohud.com/article/20090324/NEWS02/903240346 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violakat03 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 It sounds like they left themselves wide open to lawsuits by allowing poorly or untrained workers to operate the rides. I mean seriously, how does a ride op NOT know how to stop a ride? That should be one of the first things given in training. It might be a bogus claim if the only thing that happened was that the man fell off - that was his own fault - but it became the park's problem and a valid claim when the ride op failed to perform an emergency stop on the ride because they didn't know how. That is absolutely ridiculous. Now the drop ceiling falling claim, that one seems ridiculous too. That's just someone jumping on the gravy train. I'm sorry but I've had all sorts of mishaps through my childhood and we never once sued anybody. I remember tripping over something in an aisle and cutting my leg open on a shelf at Meijer when I was about 5 - they bandaged me up, gave me a token for the penny pony, and I was content. I got pushed down a set of stone steps in kindergarten and had to have stitches under my eye. Did my mom sue the family of the girl who pushed me? It never even crossed her mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Claims made in a civil lawsuit express only one side of a story. For all we know, the man never fell from the horse at all. The injuries suffered may have been the result of exactly what the plaintiff claims, or from falling off a ladder at home....there may be video of the incident and witnesses...or there may only be the plaintiff's own statements. We may find all this out, or the case may be quietly settled or even dropped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violakat03 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 In reading the article, it said he yelled to the ride op to stop and she said they couldn't. Judging by the fact in the original lawsuit, the ride ops for that ride also did not know how to shut down the ride, it seems like the ride ops are completely untrained in how to do anything other than start the ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Read it again: ..."Every revolution he was making eye-contact with the person running the ride and telling her to shut it down and she said they couldn't," Schwartz said. Switzer's allegation echoed statements heard Thursday at the Cassaras' trial, when the Cassaras' attorney, Marvin Salenger, said staff at the Ye Old Mill ride could not shut down the ride when ordered to do so by police because they did not know how.... Scwhwartz is his attorney...and the allegations against the park just so happen to "echo" those made in a highly visible trial last week. There were doubtless depositions in that trial as well. So, the allegations are the same. Are the facts the same? Or not? Again, we may never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violakat03 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 The first suit set the precedent. If it's been proven once that the ride ops didn't know what they were doing, then more and more people will come forward with similar claims. While some may be bogus, this is a pretty common phenomena. The same thing happens any time faulty products are found. All it takes is one person to spark it off and the rest come like a waterfall. How many of them are legitimate, as you said, we may never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 It wasn't proven. The case was settled out of court...and could have been for many reasons. A settlement doesn't prove anything, which is one reason why so many cases are settled. It's rare for a case against a park to proceed all the way to trial and then be settled during trial. By far, most cases are settled before trial, and if they do go to trial, the trial usually, but not always, proceeds to its conclusion. It is difficult if not impossible to read into a case why it was settled...it could be anything from bad publicity to the insurance company wanting to settle to avoid risking a higher verdict to very poor testimony by park employees to the park actually being wrong and realizing it to heaven knows what else. One lesson here, and people wonder why parks and insurance companies don't take more cases to trial...as you have noted, a public trial can and often does bring more claims out of the woodwork. Settlements are normally not public record. Playland is unique...the park is government owned, and thus its finances are largely public. Normally, settlements are not publicized, and that is often a term of the settlement. That would be nearly impossible here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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