A young woman who was hit by a fast-moving rollercoaster and fell nine meters is suing its operator after WorkSafe dropped charges against her.
Shylah Rodden, 29, launched legal proceedings against Chant Amusements Pty Ltd through her mother and legal guardian, Kylie Rodden, following the incident at the 2022 Royal Melbourne Show.
Despite a WorkSafe investigation earlier this year that cleared Chant Amusements of liability for the incident, Ms Rodden’s legal representation claims it did not adequately prevent people from entering the rollercoaster track.
Ms Rodden suffered life-changing injuries on September 25, 2022, after entering the rollercoaster track via the arrival platform to retrieve her mobile phone, which she dropped during the ride.
You are seeking compensation to cover your lifetime loss of income due to alleged negligence and breach of duty of care.
A writ and statement of claim were filed in the Victoria County Court on December 20, Herald of the sun reported.
Ms Rodden will be represented by Arnold Thomas & Becker lawyer Sharlene Mehta, who also handled her work with WorkSafe.
The authority’s investigation in August found Ms Rodden was partly to blame for the incident, an inside source told Daily Mail Australia.
Shylah Rodden (pictured) is suing Chant Amusements after being hit by one of its roller coasters in 2022.
Ms Rodden (pictured dressed in black on the rollercoaster track, moments before the collision) suffered life-changing injuries in the accident.
The ride operators allegedly told Ms Rodden that the ride would stop to allow her to retrieve her phone, but she would have to wait 30 minutes.
It is understood that the investigation found that the operators had taken all precautions to ensure the safety of those attending the show.
‘They did all that. “They followed their systems, they followed the processes they had in place,” the source said.
‘The workers followed their training as ordered and that is where the obligations are.
“That’s where the charges that the authority could file are and they have nothing to do with the decisions that a person has made to circumvent the systems and processes that were implemented by the (operator).”
The ride operator was already familiar with those processes, given the number of items that routinely fall off the ride, the source said.
That system does not stop the trip every time a customer alerts the operator.
“On a roller coaster, that kind of thing happens all the time,” they added.
A WorkSafe investigation earlier this year concluded that Ms Rodden (pictured recently) was largely responsible for the accident.
Despite her horrific injuries, Ms Rodden (pictured in hospital) has regained the ability to walk and talk.
‘Things fall out of people’s pockets literally every time they travel, so they have a system in place to ensure that when things fall out, people can get them back.
‘They continue the journey because they can’t stop it every time, otherwise they would be doing it all day, every day.
“They’ve set times when they can close it and let people go pick up their things.”
However, WorkSafe’s investigation was questioned by lawyer Mehta, who claimed that Shodden and his family were not adequately consulted during the process.
The newly filed court document outlines the long list of Ms Rodden’s life-changing injuries from the collision.
They included skull fractures, brain hemorrhage, injuries to the left carotid and right vertebral arteries, abdominal injuries, damage to the liver and small intestine, fractures of the thoracic spine, fracture of the right wrist, fracture of the left arm, pelvic fractures, fracture of the right ankle, broken left hand, bleeding in the right eye, chest injuries, multiple fractured ribs and psychological injuries.
Still, he beat all the odds and managed to regain his ability to walk and talk.
Legal representation for Ms Rodden (pictured) claims Chant Amusements failed to adequately prevent people from entering the rollercoaster track.
Among the allegations against Chant Amusements, Ms Rodden’s legal team claims it did not have enough staff on the arrival platform, lacked a proper one-way access system to the platform, did not have sufficient fencing to prevent access to the area of the runway and do not adequately instruct passengers to remove valuables before boarding.
Mrs Rodden was unemployed at the time of the incident but was studying a Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs.
It is understood he is now studying for a Certificate IV in Community Services but has a reduced work capacity which is “likely to continue indefinitely”.
“Plaintiff alleges loss of income to date and retirement age,” the court documents read.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Chant Amusements, Arnold Thomas & Becker and Kylie Rodden for comment.