PORTLAND, Ore. — Oaks Amusement Park has been hit with a lawsuit over a ride malfunction last week that resulted in 28 people being trapped upside down about 50 feet in the air for nearly half an hour.
The lawsuit, first reported by Willamette Week, was filed by Amy Yannotta on behalf of her 14-year-old daughter, who was one of the riders who got stuck. It seeks up to $125,000 from Oaks Park, alleging that Yannotta's daughter and other riders were terrified for their lives and suffered both mental trauma and physical injuries.
The pendulum-style "AtmosFEAR" ride got stuck just before 3 p.m. June 14 at the peak of its circular rotation, and staff immediately called 911. Portland Fire & Rescue announced at around 3:25 p.m. that the ride had been manually lowered and all riders had been evacuated.
“It sounds more like a mock-execution than a ride," said Michael Fuller, with Underdog Law Firm, who's representing the 14-year-old. "They were not expecting to be held upside down for that length of time; people were throwing up and passing out, having seizures."
The lawsuit states that riders were "screaming for their lives, throwing up, crying, passing out, and praying to God for 25 minutes until the ride was finally lowered to the ground," and that Yannotta was "left with more questions than answers" after speaking with Oaks Park officials following the incident.
“We are certainly not accusing Oaks Park of doing anything intentionally wrong, but it’s a negligence claim," Fuller said. "And that means if you make a mistake, you are responsible for the consequences, and in this case, they were pretty severe.”
The lawsuit states that being trapped upside down caused Yannotta's daughter to experience physical symptoms, such as "abrasions, soreness, body aches" and "dizziness, increased heart rate, high blood pressure" due to increased blood flow to the brain, as well as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Additional lawsuits may be on the way; Portland attorney Jason Kafoury told KGW on Friday that he's been retained by three families relating to the ride incident, although he has not yet filed any lawsuits.