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Widow of man who fell from SplashWater Falls sues Six Flags

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Postby [jonrev] on July 4th, 2008, 3:11 pm
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1039 ... 08.article

STNG WIRE REPORTS

The widow of a man who plunged 43 feet to his death while working at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee has sued the amusement park's parent company for negligence.

Donna L. Lee, the wife of Thomas J. Lee, also filed suit Thursday in Cook County court against Royal Crane Service, owners of the crane used to dismantle the Splash Water Falls ride at Great America.

The suit said on March 11, 2008, during the dismantling of the water ride, Thomas J. Lee fell to the ground while working to disconnect structural steel components.

She is asking for $50,000.
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Postby wishman35 on July 4th, 2008, 3:23 pm
[jonrev] wrote:http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1039556,sixflags070308.article

STNG WIRE REPORTS

The widow of a man who plunged 43 feet to his death while working at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee has sued the amusement park's parent company for negligence.

Donna L. Lee, the wife of Thomas J. Lee, also filed suit Thursday in Cook County court against Royal Crane Service, owners of the crane used to dismantle the Splash Water Falls ride at Great America.

The suit said on March 11, 2008, during the dismantling of the water ride, Thomas J. Lee fell to the ground while working to disconnect structural steel components.

She is asking for $50,000.


What a dumb woman. Trying to milk the system for all she can get, probably off banging some new guy and getting money to pay off her new life.
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Postby Jackluver18 on July 4th, 2008, 4:20 pm
What the heck, seriously these people are screwed up in the head. The guy didn't even work for the park did he no and it wasn't the parks fault that he died, and it wasn't the parks fault with the stupid kid that died at Georgia, now it's starting to get old that people are sueing the park when the park had nothing to do with it.
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Postby onyxhotel08 on July 4th, 2008, 4:33 pm
None of this would have happened if the park did not take down SWF. Yeah, I'm sad that its gone. The woman, though, needs to get a clue; it was an ACCIDENT. Anyone have any good pics of SWF?
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Postby cycamps on July 4th, 2008, 6:42 pm
People piss me off, such as this lady. It's not Six Flag's fault! Stupid people. Six Flags hasn't had the best of luck with lawsuits lately.
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Postby bigb7965 on July 4th, 2008, 10:53 pm
does this lady think that getting money for someone's death will make it better???
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Postby Coaster Justin on July 4th, 2008, 11:27 pm
But Ironically, The Collision of Wildcat at Cedar Point. Nobody is suing.

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Postby demonbulleagle on July 4th, 2008, 11:40 pm
CoasterBoy wrote:But Ironically, The Collision of Wildcat at Cedar Point. Nobody is suing.

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odds are somebody is tring to sue them right now and we don't know it yet.
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Postby Luxornv on July 5th, 2008, 1:05 am
I think the widow would have a good chance of winning this case since it was not caused by pure stupidity of the worker. The death was an accident, but probably linked to improper working conditions. I hope she's going for the contractor that was hired too since it would be more their fault than SF's.
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Postby Demon_07 on July 6th, 2008, 6:30 pm
Sxi flags is really going to suffer because of all these lawsuits.
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Postby Luxornv on July 8th, 2008, 4:12 pm
This lawsuit won't be as big as the one with the kid who was decapitated at SFOG. This guy was a construction worker, and doing something none of us do at the park. Therefore, most people will find it less interesting since it really doesn't effect them, and hence the media won't pay as much attention to this either. Unfortunately the kid at SFOG will hurt SF more than this, and it wasn't even the park's fault.
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Postby Aaron084 on July 9th, 2008, 10:51 am
While I hate stupid lawsuits, and this seems like one of them, it seems reasonable that she's only asking for $50,000. This would seem to cover a years worth of that guy's income as well as any expenses that went along with the death. I'm sure he had life insurance and all that, but $50,000 isn't too much to ask for when your husband dies on the job. (I'm not agreeing with the lawsuit, I'm just saying asking for $50,000 is better than 5 mil)

Also, I was at CP the day of the Wild Cat accident, we actually walked by it 10 minutes after it happened to go on Iron Dragon. It seemed pretty bad at the time, one of the cars was quite beat up and was a bit crumpled like an accordion. There were a few kids sitting on the ground getting oxygen and being treated for minor injuries while two mini ambulances came by to pick up others. It was sad that there were tons of gawkers taking pictures and trying to get close to everything. I'm surprised that the accident didn't make bigger news than it did and the only reason I didn't post anything right away is that I didn't want to contribute to any hype about it.

Cedar Point did an excellent job in responding to the accident, there were quite a few people on site right away, including their cute mini ambulances. They had maintenance guys on the track right away as well looking at the chain trying to find the spot that the car slipped off.
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Postby onyxhotel08 on July 10th, 2008, 12:44 am
I don't think I ever did hear exactly why the ride was removed? I swear every time I was at the park the queue was PACKED. I mean right off those stairs the line formed. Which is why I don't buy the excuse that it was declining in popularity. It was also a fairly small and easy ride based on structure. It was quick yet effective. More fun than I ever had on RR, YC or LR. I think they should have kept the small lake area so it doesn't look so barren. I didn't realize the concrete was right below the water it looked deeper. I can't find any updated shots of the ride. You know, ones from the later years and ones that you can actaully see the entire structure. They did get rid of it fast though. March-April. And it's gone. 20 years of history.
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Postby coasterkidd100 on July 14th, 2008, 6:45 pm
Didn't this happen like 3 or 4 months ago. Why is she suing them now? Why didn't she sue them right after it happned?
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Postby Nystagmus on July 14th, 2008, 7:47 pm
coasterkidd,

Considering that she lost her husband, I doubt that a lawsuit was the first thing on her mind. Plus, being one who has gone through the process of suing someone, it takes time. You can threaten a case all you want. But, actually carrying it out is another process. I'm sure she had to consult an attorney, who then had to contact the park to consider avoiding going to court, etc.

In my last lawsuit, I had to wait about a month and a half before I could file. And, even then, I wasn't in court for 2 weeks after that. Then, I had to wait another month before the next court date. The long wait came from filing the proper paperwork, making sure I took appropriate actions before I could even file, waiting for the summons to be issued, etc. And, just so y'all know, I won my case on my own(woo!).

I hope that helps! :)
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Postby coasterkidd100 on July 14th, 2008, 7:53 pm
^ Your right. I did not think it would take so long to get into court. Thank you for sharing that info with me.
And yes, I guess if someone in my family died I would not think about suing anybody right away.
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