WhiteWater World on the Gold Coast sued for $1 million by the family of an eight-year-old girl who allegedly suffered internal injuries on the Whitewater World Slide
- Theme park sued for over $1 million
- Eight-year-old boy suffered internal injuries
A popular Queensland theme park has been sued for more than $1 million by the family of an eight-year-old girl who allegedly suffered serious internal injuries on a water slide.
The little girl from Logan, north of the Gold Coast, lost half a liter of blood and spent four nights in hospital after the incident at the WhiteWater World water park, next to Dreamworld, in 2020.
She suffers from ongoing physical and psychiatric problems, a Supreme Court lawsuit alleges.
The girl’s mother, Sarah, has launched a legal action against park owner Ardent Leisure and waterslide manufacturer Swimplex Aquatics seeking $1,027,561.33 in damages.
A family has sued Ardent Leisure, which owns WhiteWater World and Dreamworld, for more than $1 million after an eight-year-old girl sustained horrific injuries on a waterslide.
The mother-of-eight said the ordeal had been “a nightmare”.
“The last three years that we have experienced is not something I would wish on anyone, it really affected the whole family,” he told the outlet. mail.
“This has never been about the money, it’s about holding those responsible for what happened to (the girl) to account.”
A statement of claim filed last month by Shine Lawyers alleges the girl was left “bleeding profusely” when she vigorously pounded the water while riding the “Fully 6” slide at White Water World in November 2020.
The girl was riding the slide on her back with her feet down and her leg crossed as directed by the ride attendant, according to the claim.
The claim states that the girl’s legs became uncrossed “due to the forces encountered by her body while making the descent.”
“Because her legs became uncrossed… (the girl) made a strong impact with the water, which caused the water to enter her body with force (and) cause a significant tear or rupture of her vaginal wall and bleeding ” the claim said.
The claim alleges that the girl lost 500 ml of blood and was taken by ambulance to Logan Hospital, where she spent four nights and had to return five more times for treatment.
He continued to suffer physical and psychological symptoms, including ongoing bleeding, abdominal pain, anxiety and nightmares, and had time off from school, the claim alleges.
It alleges that Sarah suffered guilt and nightmares from the accident and was diagnosed with PTSD and major depressive disorder.
She was also forced to quit her job as an elderly care nurse.
A statement of claim filed last month by Shine Lawyers alleges the girl was left ‘bleeding profusely’ when she hit the water hard while riding the ‘Fully 6’ slide at White Water World in November 2020 (Pictured: Full 6 Slide )
The claim states that both Ardent Leisure and Swimplex Aquatics had described the Fully 6 water slide as a “high intensity” slide and that it was “reasonably foreseeable” that children as young as the girl would ride it.
It was also reasonably foreseeable that children riding the slide would “encounter strong forces of acceleration and deceleration.”
The claim alleges that Ardent breached his duty to care for the child by failing to warn her of these forces and directing her to keep her legs crossed.
It alleges that Swimplex Aquatics did not design or test the waterslide to show that it was safe for an eight-year-old girl, and did not recognize the risk of water entering the body with “high impact,” nor did it instruct Ardent about it. risk.
A WhiteWater World spokeswoman told the Courier Mail that Ardent Leisure acknowledged that a complaint had been received about the incident, but was unable to comment due to legal process.
In 2022, Ardent Leisure was forced to pay $2.15 million to the family of a woman who died after the Thunder River Rapids ride (pictured) at Dreamworld malfunctioned
Ardent Leisure was forced last year to pay $2.15 million to the husband and two children of a woman who died when a Dreamworld ride failed in 2016.
Sydney woman Cindy Low, 42, died on the Thunder River Rapids promenade along with Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett and Roozi Araghi when a water pump failed causing the raft they were on to capsize.
In 2020, the company was fined $3.6 million after pleading guilty in Brisbane Magistrate Court to breaches of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
