Ride designer of the Verrukt waterslide facing criminal charges

Many Illinois residents were horrified when they learned that a 10-year-old boy was decapitated on the Verruckt waterslide at Schlitterbahn Water Park in 2016. Located in Kansas City, Kansas, the waterslide was billed as the tallest in the world and was new when the accident happened.

News sources report that the designer of the ride, a 72-year-old man, was taken into custody when he arrived at an airport in Texas and charged with second-degree murder, aggravated child endangerment and aggravated battery for the accident. The designer was returning from a business trip in China when he was arrested.

In addition to the man, several others are also facing charges in the accident. Together with the co-owner of the park, the designer is accused to have rushed the waterslide’s release. He is also accused of not having the engineering knowledge necessary to build the ride. The park states that its rides undergo internal inspections and third-party inspections before they are opened. The ride has been closed since the incident happened, but the remainder of the park is planned to reopen on May 25 for its normal season.

When people are visiting the premises of others and are seriously injured because of defective conditions that are present, they may file lawsuits against the property owners and operators so that they can hold them civilly liable for their negligence. Premises liability lawsuits may be filed at the same time that corresponding criminal cases might be pending and allow the victims an avenue of recovering monetary damages. Experienced personal injury lawyers may analyze the facts of what happened and investigate to determine all of the parties that hold liability so that their clients’ recovery might be maximized.

Source: NBC News, “Designer of Schlitterbahn waterslide that decapitated boy taken into custody at airport“, Elizabeth Chuck, April 3, 2018