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In the case of Kyia v. Lake Compounce Theme Park, Inc., parents sued a theme park for the death of their son, who was permitted to ride alone on a water ride at the amusement park. The parents brought their law suit on two counts: (1) negligence and (2) recklessness. In law, negligence is the failure to use reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury to another. Recklessness means that the person knew, or should have known, that his or her actions were likely to cause harm. There is a higher standard of proof required to prove recklessness, however, to do so may allow the court to multiply the monetary award for such injuries.

In the case at hand, a six-year old was permitted to ride alone on a water slide at the amusement park. While on the ride, the child’s inner tube flipped over, causing the young boy to be thrown beneath the surface of the lake and suffer injuries which led to his death several days later. The park argued to strike the count for recklessness, claiming it was essentially a “re-hash” of the parent’s first claim for negligence. The parents argued in support of their claim for recklessness, and claimed that the park was negligent in allowing the slide to be used without proper and adequate ride restriction, allowing a infants to ride without a life jacket or vest, and failing to have an appropriate height requirement on the water slide.

The court ruled in favor of the parents. While the same facts apply for the negligence and recklessness claims, the merits of the claims themselves are different. The parents allegations of the park’s failure to see that the infant son was too small to ride the water slide without an adult was adequate to set forth a claim of reckless conduct, because it was supplemented by all other allegations of the ride’s lack of safety measures. The court denied the park’s request to strike the recklessness claim.

At Maya Murphy, P.C., our personal injury attorneys are dedicated to achieving the best results for individuals and their family members and loved ones whose daily lives have been disrupted by injury, whether caused by a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, a defective product, or otherwise. Our attorneys are not afraid to aggressively pursue and litigate cases and have extensive experience litigating personal injury matters in both state and federal courts, and always with regard to the unique circumstances of our client and the injury he or she has sustained. 

Please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.

Source: Alexander Kyia v. Lake Compounce Theme Park, Inc. et al., 2992 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2481, 2002 WL 1949222 (Conn. Super. Ct. July 18, 2002)