Man killed on ride was not properly restrained

What do you think of this case? Keep in mind the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act.




May 7, 2004, 3:30PM
Man killed on ride was not properly restrained
Associated Press
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2556277

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- A man who fell to his death from a roller coaster at Six Flags New England was not properly secured in his seat by a park attendant and was so big he should not have been on the ride in the first place, state investigators say.

The Department of Public Safety report, released today, blamed an unidentified 20-year-old attendant for not making sure Stanley J. Mordarsky was safely restrained in the Superman Ride of Steel on May 1.

Mordarsky should have been denied admission because his girth prevented a T-bar lap restraint from fitting firmly against his thighs, the report said.

Mordarsky, 55, had cerebral palsy, used a motorized scooter and was 5-foot-2 and weighed 230 pounds, according to his family.

*SNIP*

Sevart said some of the longer seat belts will be shortened, so that people who are too large to fit in them will be kept off the ride.

But if he didn't fit the ride, then he shouldn't have been allowed on. People who don't fit rides because they are too small are routinely turned away all the time. Usually, those people are children, though sometimes they are adults with small stature. And children who are too tall for the pre-school rides, even if they are pre-schoolers, are denied access. It looks like 6 Flags simply had either a poorly trained or indifferent staffer and should have to pay whatever costs are assessed against it.

but this family probably has a good negligence claim against the park.

"I'm not usually a fan of lawsuits..."

That's a most bizarre statement to make.