Nearly 1 ½ years after a girl’s feet were severed on a ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, the amusement park has reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with the teenager’s family, who had sued the park for negligence.
The amount of the settlement wasn’t disclosed, but it is noted that the girl’s unpaid medical bills total nearly $500,000 and that Kentucky law allows recovery for future lost income, as well as pain and suffering.
The girl, then 13, was riding the Superman Tower of Power — which lifted passengers 177 feet, then dropped them at speeds of more than 50 mph — when a cable broke and severed her feet.
Her parents, alleged that Kentucky Kingdom was negligent in inspecting, testing, maintaining and operating the ride.
State officials announced last May that it was impossible to pinpoint why a cable became fatigued and snapped on the ride, but they said the girl’s injuries would have been limited to “cuts and scrapes” if the ride operator had immediately hit its emergency stop button.
Officials also said the accident might have been avoided if park workers had followed the ride manual’s instructions for detecting deterioration in the cable.
The amusement park, which was fined $1,000, the maximum allowed at the time, denied liability in the family’s lawsuit and blamed the accident in part on the ride’s Swiss manufacturer.
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