Waterpark named in $1.25M suit
Calypso’s legal troubles mount
The embattled Calypso Theme Waterpark is facing fresh legal troubles after a woman filed a $1.25-million lawsuit alleging she was hurt on one of its waterslides.
According to a statement of claim, Brenda Ferguson alleges she injured her neck, right shoulder and arm when she and her husband were tossed off a raft as it descended into a tube on one of the Limoges theme park’s rides in September 2011.
Incidents on the ride Ferguson alleges she was injured on — the Steamer — led to some of the 20 charges laid against the park in July under the Technical Standards and Safety Act. The charges also related to incidents on the Pirates Aquaplay and Bobsleigh slides in 2011 and 2012.
Ferguson’s lawsuit is one of several launched against Calypso by people who allege they were injured while riding its slides, and the second that involved allegations of injury on the Steamer.
Another woman is suing Calypso for $500,000 after alleging she, too, was flipped off a raft.
Other lawsuits, with claims totalling more than $3.8 million in damages, also have been filed against Calypso by patrons who allege they were injured while visiting the park.
According to Ferguson’s statement of claim, which was filed Aug. 30, she and her husband were on the slide when their raft failed to immediately enter an opening that led to a tube and shallow pool. According to Ferguson’s statement of claim, the raft was stationary for several moments before a large gush of water pushed them into the opening backwards. The force of the water caused the raft to hit the inside of the tube sideways, causing both Ferguson and her husband to be thrown off, according to the claim. Both slid to the bottom of the slide.
“Brenda was in so much pain that she had to be assisted from the pool by her husband,” read the claim. “She could not walk on her own.”
Ferguson alleged that she and her husband boarded the raft without being given any direction of caution.
Among the reasons Ferguson alleges the park was negligent was that it failed to provide safe premises and permitted the operation of a water slide that was unsafe to riders. Calypso has yet to file a statement of defence. None of Ferguson’s allegations has been proven in court.
Calypso is due back in court on the TSSA charges on Oct. 3.