The Michigan woman who was injured in 2021 when she was struck in the head by a piece of metal that dislodged from the Top Thrill Dragster rollercoaster at Cedar Point has filed a lawsuit against the park, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the company and employee’s alleged negligence.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the Common Pleas Court of Erie County, Ohio, and lists the woman, her husband and her father as plaintiffs against Cedar Point’s parent company Cedar Fair, and other individuals and corporations as necessary.
The lawsuit claims that the woman was permanently injured when the part, identified in the lawsuit as a proximity flag plate, came off the coaster and struck her in the head.
The injuries she sustained, according to the lawsuit, included:
- Head trauma with resultant traumatic brain injury
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage with cerebral edema due to traumatic head injury
- Cerebral venous thrombosis of the sigmoid sinus
- Right subdural hematoma
- Communicating hydrocephalus with VP shunt placement
- Right open skull fracture associated with cerebral laceration and contusions and resultant prolonged loss of consciousness (more than 24 hours)
The woman's medical expenses exceeded $2,000,000 and will require future medical care and treatment with a cost in excess of $10,000,000, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit states she was enrolled to attend graduate school in order to secure employment as an educator, and as a result of the injury and permanent disability, she has suffered a loss of earning capacity in the some of about $1,265,000.
The lawsuit claims that Cedar Fair and all associated individuals and companies were negligent in failing to exercise reasonable care when installing the proximity flag plate, when inspecting and maintaining the ride, in failing to exercise reasonable care in protecting park patrons, and for further acts of negligence as discovered and supported by evidence.
The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants interfered with and destroyed evidence by dismantling, destroying and removing the return side of the Top Thrill Dragster Ride, in spite of a written request from the plaintiffs to preserve all evidence, including trains and the track.
The complaint alleges that the woman “suffered serious personal injury, conscious pain and suffering, medical expenses, inability to be gainfully employed, mental anguish, and the loss of the ability to engage in her regular activities from which she derived pleasure in life.”
The lawsuit also claims her husband “has been, and will continue to be, deprived of the consortium, society, companionship, care, assistance, attention, protection, advice, guidance, and the counsel of his wife, as well as mental anguish.”
Her father, also listed as a plaintiff, experienced “fight, terror, and serious emotional distress,” as a result of seeing his daughter being struck by the ride part, the lawsuit states.
The woman is seeking Cedar Fair to compensate her for the damages suffered, including: reasonable value of the medical services rendered, reasonable value of future medical services, loss of wages, future lost wages, lost earning potential, physical pain suffered, physical pain suffered in the future, mental suffering, future mental suffering, loss to enjoyment of life, pre-judgement interest, judgement for or other appropriate remedy for the interference with and destruction of evidence, and all other relief.
Her husband and father are seeking judgment in their favor to compensate them for the losses they sustained.
The lawsuit does not include a specific amount being sought in compensation, except that it is in excess of $25,000.
News 5 has reached out to Cedar Point representatives and the lawyer for the plaintiffs for comment on the pending litigation.
Background
On Aug. 15, 2021, a metal object later determined to be an L-shaped bracket about the size of a man’s hand dislodged from a train at the top of the 420-foot-tall ride and struck the 44-year-old Michigan woman in the head while she waited in line for the ride.
After being struck, the woman was transported to Firelands Regional Medical Center and later transferred to St. Vincent's Hospital in Toledo. At the time, her family provided a statement saying she was “fighting for her life” as a result of her injuries.
The Top Thrill Dragster was closed for the remainder of the season.
In February of 2022, the Ohio Department of Agriculture Amusement Ride Safety Division (ODA ARS) completed its investigation of the incident and cleared Cedar Point of any criminal wrongdoing. Investigators said there was insufficient evidence to find that Cedar Point violated any laws.
Over a year after the woman was struck, the park announced that the ride, which had opened 19 years before and had been ridden by more than 18 million people, would be retired from the park.
“However, Cedar Point’s legacy of ride innovation continues. Our team is hard at work, creating a new and reimagined ride experience,” the company tweeted in Sept. of 2022.
This week, Cedar Point tweeted an image of the decommissioned coaster with crews on an elevated platform, appearing to be working on the track.
The image, which shows the “FINISH” sign at the end of the racing-themed coaster’s track, is captioned: “Finished? Nah, fam. We’re just getting started.”
Finished? Nah, fam. We’re just getting started. 🏎️💨#CedarPoint #CP24PHP pic.twitter.com/bO16WCqZ58
— Cedar Point (@cedarpoint) July 11, 2023
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