More Lawsuits Stem from Kentucky State Zoo Accident
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Last month’s train wreck at the Louisville Zoo, also known as Kentucky’s State Zoo left approximately 20 of the 30 people aboard the train injured when it derailed. Most of the passengers aboard the board were children-including a two year old who obtained a broken leg and head lacerations as a result of the accident.
The train was designed to transport passengers in a two mile loop around the zoo. The ride was closed while the Kentucky Department of Agriculture launched its investigation.
Among the first lawsuits to be filed in the Jefferson Circuit Court was a family from Charleston, Indiana. The suit alleged the zoo was negligent in its maintenance and operation of the train. The Associated Content reported:
The claim seeks both monetary damages and a restraining order to prohibit the zoo from altering the scene after the KDA finishing its investigation.
Since then, more plaintiffs have come forward with similar allegations. The Courier-Journal reported that:
While two previous lawsuits have named the Louisville Zoo as a defendant, the third suit instead focuses on a zoo employee, Mary Coffey, who was operating the train, and Chance Rides Manufacturing Inc., which designed, manufactured and sold the train to the zoo, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs allege that the train was unsafe and Chance was negligent in selling the train to the zoo in "a defective and unreasonable dangerous condition."
The train’s operator was reported to be 18, the minimum age required to operate the train. Both driver error and equipment malfunction are being considered in determining the cause of the accident.