A woman is suing Westmoreland County and its bureau of parks and recreation, claiming they’re liable for injuries she suffered more than a year ago while riding a slide in the Giant Slide Complex at Mammoth Park.
Melissa A. Cooley of Allegheny County is seeking in excess of $30,000 in damages for injuries she said she suffered Aug. 1, 2020, while descending the 100-foot racing slide portion of the complex in the county park in Mt. Pleasant Township, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
“(The county) had a duty to inspect, maintain, repair, control, supervise and/or oversee the at-issue premises and to warn of and correct any dangers,” the five-page lawsuit states.
Cooley maintains in the lawsuit that, when she was injured, “the at-issue slides lacked signage about proper usage, lacked netting, guide rails, barriers and other protective safety equipment.”
As Cooley descended on the stainless steel slide, she approached the bottom at a high rate of speed, the lawsuit states.
“She was caused to become airborne and contort sideways, violently striking the metal sides, ultimately hitting the ground and skidding on her back several feet before coming to rest,” Cooley’s attorney, Richard G. Talarico, wrote in the lawsuit.
The suit contends Cooley suffered pain to her left clavicle, ribs, knee abrasions, back abrasions, bruises throughout her body, “nervousness, emotional tension, anxiety and depression.”
“She has endured and will continue to endure great pain, suffering, inconvenience, embarrassment, mental anguish, monetary expenses for the care of her injury, and emotional and psychological trauma,” the lawsuit states.
She will require more medical care, rehabilitation and therapy as a result of the incident, according to the suit.
The lawsuit did not list the town in Allegheny County where Cooley resides or her age. Reached by telephone Friday, Talarico declined to go into specifics of the alleged injuries.
“I will tell you that I have a video of the entire incident,” Talarico said. “Not only am I seeking justice for my client, I’m seeking the elimination of existing problems so these types of injuries never occur there again.”
The slide has been a landmark in the park since 1973, when the original 96-foot single slide opened in the 408-acre park.
The Giant Slide was redesigned and reconstructed in 2019 and 2020 as part of $1.1 million in park renovations and reopened July 2, 2020. The facility includes two 100-foot stainless steel racing slides, a smaller 50-foot plastic slide, climbing walls, walkways and landscaping.
Just over a month after it opened, the county temporarily shut it down after reports that some people were injured while descending the slides. The slides reopened June 15 after safety inspectors deemed them safe.
County officials claimed some of those reporting injuries did not follow posted rules at the site.
Wax paper and other speed enhancements, including pans, are banned under safety regulations instituted after the moratorium.
County solicitor Melissa A. Guiddy declined comment, saying the county does not comment on pending litigation.
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