Dreamworld owners deny liability for $1 million after little girl allegedly suffered horrific genital injuries on water slide at WhiteWater World on the Gold Coast
The owners of Dreamworld theme park have rejected claims they are required to pay $1 million in damages to a mother whose young daughter suffered a horrific genital injury on a water slide.
The girl, aged 8, was sliding on the Full6 ride at Dreamworld’s sister park WhiteWater World on the Gold Coast in November 2020 when the slide turned “red with blood”.
She had suffered a serious vaginal tear that required two operations and four nights at Logan Hospital.
The girl’s mother, Sarah – who claims her PTSD from the incident forced her to drop out of a nursing course – is suing the theme park operators for more than $1 million for lost income , general damage and PTSD.
The girl, 8, was sliding on the Full6 ride at Dreamworld’s sister park, WhiteWater World, on the Gold Coast (PICTURED) in November 2020 when the slide turned “red with blood”.
The girl (pictured) suffered a serious vaginal tear which required two operations and four nights at Logan Hospital.
But the parent company, Ardent Leisure, denies the girl’s injuries were its fault and maintains the girl’s mother has no right to damages.
They argue that because the unusual injury did not pose a foreseeable risk, they did not have a duty to protect the girl from it, according to Courier mail.
“No reasonable risk assessment conducted by Ardent could or would have identified the risk of harm,” the defense states.
Ardent also said the damages sought “are excessive and grossly disproportionate to the true nature and extent of the harm suffered by (Sarah) resulting from the incident.”
The mother, from Logan in Brisbane’s north, is also suing Swimplex Acquatics, which designed and built the ride, but has not yet filed a defence.
No date has been set for the hearing.
The 2020 incident came just months after Ardent was fined $3.6 million for negligence following the deaths of four people killed during the 2016 Thunder Rapids ride.
Kim Dorsett’s children Kate Goodchild and Luke Dorsett, her partner Roozi Araghi and NSW mother Cindy Low were killed during an amusement park ride malfunction on October 25, 2016.
The tragedy occurred when a water pump failed, causing the water level in the ride to drop dangerously.
The victims’ raft collided with another after getting stuck in low water.
It partially overturned, throwing the group into the mechanized conveyor that was moving the rafts.
Ardent Leisure was ordered to pay $3.6 million in fines after pleading guilty to security charges related to the tragedy.
