Facts

On Oct. 2, 2011, Charles Rogers, who was wheelchair bound due to paraplegia, visited Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia. While on a rollercoaster called X2, his legs began to flap around and he sustained injuries. Rogers filed a lawsuit against Six Flags Theme Parks Inc., Magic Mountain LLC, Six Flags Corp., Six Flags Entertainment Corp. and Six Flags Operations Inc. He also sued entities involved in manufacturing or designing the ride, S&S Worldwide Inc., and Arrow Dynamics. Arrow, a defunct company, was dismissed from the lawsuit.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff claimed that an employee said that he was eligible to get on the ride despite his disability and that Six Flags was negligent in letting him do so without a prior warning. He also argued that S&S designed the rollercoaster in a defective manner because it didn't have leg restraints and should have given warnings. In addition, he argued that Six Flags knew about the allegedly hazardous nature of the ride due to a prior injury to a paraplegic visitor.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Six Flags argued that the ride was in compliance with relevant standards, as well as California Amusement Park Regulations. S&S claimed that the ride wasn't designed defectively, was safe for a paraplegic, wouldn't have been safer with leg restraints, and that it didn't have any notice of prior problems. Both Six Flags and S&S alleged that Rogers was responsible for the accident entirely because he didn't tell employees about other injures he had and did not read informational postings about the ride. Last, defendants argued that he failed to tell anyone about being injured.

Settlement Discussions

Rogers demanded $300,000 from Six Flags and $1.2 million from S&S. Six Flags offered $125,000 and S&S offered $80,000.

Damages

Rogers asked for $504,000 in future medical and life care costs, and $3 million for past and future pain and suffering.

Injuries

Plaintiff suffered a femur fracture, blood clots and an amputation.

Result

The jury declined to award Rogers anything. Although the jury found that Six Flags was negligent, it concluded that it wasn't a substantial factor in bringing about the injuries. Also, because it found that the ride's benefits outweighed its risks, any liability for design defects by S&S was noncompensable.

Deliberation

four hours

Length

10 days