The young woman hit by a rollercoaster while retrieving her phone has revealed all the devastating injuries she suffered as she launches legal action against the family business that operated the attraction.
Shylah Rodden, now 29, has filed a civil claim in Victoria County Court against Chants Amusements, owners of the Rebel Coaster that hit her at the Melbourne Royal Show in 2022.
Ms Rodden was lucky not to have died in the shocking incident, in which her upper body and head were smashed into pieces.
A list of 31 injuries included in a statement of claim filed in court makes harrowing reading.
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 (area from the neck to the bottom of the rib cage), a broken right wrist, a broken left arm, pelvic fractures, a broken right ankle, a broken left hand, a hemorrhage in the right eye, chest injuries, multiple fractured ribs and psychological injuries.
But after a nearly two-year investigation, labor watchdog WorkSafe Victoria decided not to charge Chants or the Melbourne Royal Show with anything.
Rodden’s attorney, Sharlene Mehta of Arnold Thomas & Becker, declined to comment on the civil action Monday.
But a 16-page document filed in court claims Chants Amusements was solely to blame for Ms Rodden’s injuries.
Shylah Rodden’s body was crushed after being hit by a roller coaster and sent nine meters off the track and onto the ground.
Shylah Rodden after being hit by a roller coaster in 2022
‘The injury suffered by (Ms Rodden) occurred due to the defendant’s breach of duty owed to him by failing to ensure that (she) would not be injured or suffer damage due to the state of the site or things done or omitted in relation to the State,” the court was told.
Among the allegations is that Chants staff should have stopped Ms Rodden from jumping onto the tracks to retrieve her phone after she dropped it on the ride.
Ms Rodden had re-entered the attraction from the arrival point, which the lawyers said, among other things, should have been better fenced.
Chants Amusements did not respond to a query from Daily Mail Australia on Monday.
The company can be revealed to be a family business operated by Les ‘Chippa’ Chant and Cassie Evans.
Chant, a father of five and now in his mid-40s, has been a showman all his life.
Chants Amusements has been in business for over 30 years and Mr Chant is recognized throughout the country as one of the great carnival operators.
“Some people choose to do it just as a way of life and live week to week and enjoy the campfire, a few beers and a barbecue and just get by,” Mr Chant told daily liberal just a few years ago.
Les ‘Chippa’ Chant (right) and Cassie Evans
Chants Amusements is a family business
Shylah Rodden before being hit by a roller coaster in 2022
Seconds from disaster. Shylah Rodden (dressed in black) tries to grab her phone
Shylah Rodden as she is today. She is suing the ride operator for causing her injuries.
‘But other people are trying to do it on a larger scale. I have children in boarding schools and private schools. I need more trips because I have bigger bills to pay.’
Chant said performers like him loved “seeing kids having fun.”
“We’re here to create fun and make memories for families,” he said then.
The company now faces a $3 million damages bill, which Rodden’s lawyers say would have been what he would have earned working in community services until his retirement if he had gotten a job and not gotten on the roller coaster.
At the time of the incident, according to court documents, Ms Rodden was studying a Certificate IV in “Alcohol and Other Drugs” and was unemployed.
In August, Daily Mail Australia revealed Rodden allegedly lashed out angrily at Chants operators who warned her not to retrieve her phone moments before she was hit.
Well-placed sources closely linked to the WorkSafe investigation told Daily Mail Australia that Ms Rodden was found to be the key cause of the tragedy.
Ms Rodden had previously been working at a lolly stand at the fair when she and a friend went on the rollercoaster during a break.
It is understood witnesses told Worksafe investigators that Ms Rodden appeared disoriented when she dropped her phone and tried to retrieve it from under the tracks.
The source allegedly told Ms Rodden that the ride operators would stop the ride to allow her to retrieve her phone, but she would have to wait up to 30 minutes before being able to access the area.
“It’s fair to say she had a few words to say to the operator when he told her to wait half an hour, so that was the kind of behavior the operator was dealing with,” the source said.
“She really didn’t want to wait and took it upon herself not to.”
Rebel roller coaster reopened just days after Shylah Rodden was run over in 2022
Shylah Rodden was “living the relaxed life” when tragedy struck.
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.
‘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 have set times when they can close it and let people go pick up their things. (But) she decided not to wait and ultimately suffered the consequences.’
Ms Rodden’s legal action is led by Ms Rodden’s mother and legal guardian, Kylie Rodden, who is tasked with caring for her daughter.