WhiteWater World on the Gold Coast sued for $1 million by family of eight-year-old girl who allegedly suffered internal injuries on Whitewater World Slide
WhiteWater World on the Gold Coast sued for $1 million by family of eight-year-old girl who allegedly suffered internal injuries on Whitewater World Slide
- Theme park sued for more than $1 million
- Eight-year-old sustained 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 from a waterslide.
The little girl from Logan, north of the Gold Coast, lost a pint of blood and spent four nights in hospital after the incident at WhiteWater World water park, next to Dreamworld, in 2020.
She suffers from ongoing physical and psychiatric problems, according to a Supreme Court lawsuit.
The girl’s mother, Sarah, has taken 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, owner of WhiteWater World and Dreamworld, for more than $1 million after an eight-year-old girl suffered horrific injuries at a waterslide
The mother of eight said the ordeal had been “a nightmare.”
“The last three years we’ve been through, I don’t wish it on anyone – it really hit the whole family,” she told the newspaper. Courier Mail.
“This was never about the money, it’s about holding those responsible for what happened to (the girl) accountable.”
A claim filed last month by Shine Lawyers alleges that the girl “bleed profusely” when she forcefully hit the water while riding the “Fully 6” slide at White Water World in November 2020.
The girl rode the slide on her back with her feet down and her leg crossed as instructed by the ride attendant, according to the claim.
The claim states that the girl’s legs then became detached “as a result of forces encountered by her body while making the descent.”
“Because her legs became uncrossed… (the girl) made a forceful impact with the water, causing water to forcefully enter her body (and) causing a significant tear or rupture of her vaginal wall and bleeding,” the claim reads.
According to the claim, 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.
She continued to experience physical and psychological symptoms including persistent bleeding, abdominal pain, anxiety and nightmares and had time off from school, the claim alleges.
It claims that Sarah had feelings of guilt and nightmares about the accident and she was diagnosed with PTSD and major depressive disorder.
She was also forced to stop working as an elderly care nurse.
A claim filed last month by Shine Lawyers claims the girl was left “bleeding profusely” when she violently hit the water while riding the “Fully 6” slide at White Water World in November 2020 (Photo: Full 6 -slide)
The allegation states that both Ardent Leisure and Swimplex Aquatics had described Fully 6’s 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 on the slide would ‘experience strong acceleration and deceleration forces’.
The claim alleges that Ardent breached his duty of care to the girl by not warning her about these powers and not instructing her to cross her legs.
It alleges that Swimplex Aquatics failed to design and test the waterslide to prove it was safe for an eight-year-old girl, and failed to recognize the risk of water entering the body at ‘high impact’, or to tell Ardent about it. instruct risk.
A spokeswoman for WhiteWater World told the Courier Mail that Ardent Leisure acknowledged a complaint had been received about the incident but was unable to comment due to the legal process.
Ardent Leisure was forced to pay $2.15 million in 2022 to a 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 in 2016 when a Dreamworld attraction malfunctioned.
Sydney woman Cindy Low, 42, died on the Thunder River Rapids ride along with Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett and Roozi Araghi when a water pump failed and caused the raft they were in to overturn.
In 2020, the company was fined $3.6 million after pleading guilty to breaching the Work Health and Safety Act in Brisbane Magistrates Court.