SANDUSKY, Ohio (WJW) — A woman who was hit by a metal bracket that broke off the Top Thrill Dragster at the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, has filed a lawsuit against the park’s parent company, court documents obtained by NewsNation affiliate WJW show.
The incident took place on Aug. 15, 2021. The woman, from Swartz Creek, Michigan, was standing in line when she was hit in the head by the metal bracket.
The lawsuit, filed in Erie County’s Common Pleas Court Wednesday, listed the woman, her husband and her father as the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit asked for compensation following “serious, permanent, disabling personal injuries” of the plaintiff and alleges the park and its parent company, Cedar Fair, were willfully negligent in installing and taking care of the flag plate that dislodged from the ride and struck the woman. The plaintiffs also allege the park “willfully destroyed/removed the return side” of the ride to “disrupt” their case.
The woman “suffered serious personal injury, conscious pain and suffering, medical expenses, inability to be gainfully employed, mental anguish, and the loss of the ability to engage in her regular activities from which she derived pleasure in life,” the lawsuit alleged.
More specifically, the lawsuit alleged the woman sustained a traumatic brain injury, requiring care for the rest of her life. Her medical bills have so far exceeded $2 million, and future medical expenses are estimated to total over $10 million, the court documents say.
The woman’s husband — who has been “deprived of the consortium, society, companionship, care, assistance, attention, protection, advice, guidance and the counsel of his wife” — as well as her father are also asking for money.
The plaintiffs did not specify the amount of desired compensation, other than that it exceeds $25,000.
Following an investigation into the incident, the state’s Amusement Ride Safety Division previously concluded there was “insufficient evidence to find the actions or inactions of Cedar Point violated any of the laws or any rules” of the Ohio Revised Code.
WJW has reached out to both Cedar Fair and Cedar Point for comment. Cedar Fair declined to comment on any pending litigation “as a matter of company policy.”
The Top Thrill Dragster, which operated at the park for nearly 20 years before being shut down in 2021, has been permanently closed. A “reimagined” version of the ride is expected to open next year.