Boy Killed on Kansas Water Slide

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So the boy's funeral is Fri. So amidst the devastating loss, coping with it, and getting condolences from all over, the family has the presence of mind to sift through the (I'm guessing) multiple offers from attorneys to represent them? It's really hard to understand certain American's mindsets in rushing to get legal representation and sue within a few days of such tragedy. Sure they should sue, but what's the rush or advantage to select someone right now? They would have had to take time and effort to make an informed decision in their selection.

From the news:

The Schwabs have hired Michael Rader and Edward Robertson Jr. from the Leawood law firm Bartimus Frickleton Robertson. The firm said neither the family nor its lawyers would make public statements about the incident until an investigation was concluded.

Perhaps they already had a relationship with the firm. Having someone overseeing the legal piece so they can focus on their grief and their surviving children seems like the right thing to do. It doesn't mean they will or won't sue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I might have missed this earlier, my apologies in advance. How is the testing/inspection done in this area different than what is done in Kansas? Do we have state agencies doing the inspections and they do not? Or are there no requirements for daily inspections by park staff, etc?

I saw a news show in the last year or two at Six Flags that said park staff walk the tracks, run the rides w/o people, and then w/ park workers every morning before they open. Just trying to follow how this is different than what is done (or not done in Kansas).

All parks do daily inspections like at Six Flags. Even the ones in Kansas. In MD, someone from the state inspects on an annual basis. In VA, someone certified by the state inspects before operation. DC has no amusement parks. PA requires monthly inspection by a qualified inspector.

I don't count a couple of teenagers running the ride empty as an "inspection." That's what they do in KS.

That's what an unnamed source says they do. Most likely a young, hourly, front-line staff person. Inspections start really early, and parks don't pay hourly staff who are not directly involved in the inspection to stand around for a few hours watching the maintenance staff inspect. More likely, the source usually showed towards the end of the process, and saw the running of the ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So the boy's funeral is Fri. So amidst the devastating loss, coping with it, and getting condolences from all over, the family has the presence of mind to sift through the (I'm guessing) multiple offers from attorneys to represent them? It's really hard to understand certain American's mindsets in rushing to get legal representation and sue within a few days of such tragedy. Sure they should sue, but what's the rush or advantage to select someone right now? They would have had to take time and effort to make an informed decision in their selection.

From the news:

The Schwabs have hired Michael Rader and Edward Robertson Jr. from the Leawood law firm Bartimus Frickleton Robertson. The firm said neither the family nor its lawyers would make public statements about the incident until an investigation was concluded.

You are incredibly naive. I can guarantee you that this poor grieving family has already been contacted by the lawyers for the water park. While not as horrible as this incident my child was injured at a big box store. The injury was severe. I went with him in the ambulance while my husband raced to the hospital with our other children. Before he could even find us the lawyer had found him. It was gross and disgusting and according to the hospital staff how it happens all the time. We couldn't think straight but they sure were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the boy's funeral is Fri. So amidst the devastating loss, coping with it, and getting condolences from all over, the family has the presence of mind to sift through the (I'm guessing) multiple offers from attorneys to represent them? It's really hard to understand certain American's mindsets in rushing to get legal representation and sue within a few days of such tragedy. Sure they should sue, but what's the rush or advantage to select someone right now? They would have had to take time and effort to make an informed decision in their selection.

From the news:

The Schwabs have hired Michael Rader and Edward Robertson Jr. from the Leawood law firm Bartimus Frickleton Robertson. The firm said neither the family nor its lawyers would make public statements about the incident until an investigation was concluded.

You are incredibly naive. I can guarantee you that this poor grieving family has already been contacted by the lawyers for the water park. While not as horrible as this incident my child was injured at a big box store. The injury was severe. I went with him in the ambulance while my husband raced to the hospital with our other children. Before he could even find us the lawyer had found him. It was gross and disgusting and according to the hospital staff how it happens all the time. We couldn't think straight but they sure were.

Yeah. Also, the lawyers in such cases often play a really helpful role by fielding all the media inquiries and stuff like that. Otherwise the family gets burdened with all of that, which stinks, so that's another real advantage to having representation early. I would guess that he is friends, or friends of friends with someone at that firm. I don't think the KC legal market is that big, and as a state legislator, he probably already knew who the right person would be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why these talented designers did not hire real engineers to double check the design of this ride.

The injury to this boy was horrific and that netting that they used may have prevented the raft from going airborne and being launched off the tube entirely. But did they not account for what would happen to a person on that ride if they were launched into that netting? It appears that there are even designed gaps at points along the netting. If someone slammed into the edge of the netting at one of those gaps they would sustain an horrific injury - whether they themselves went airborne off the raft or the raft was launched upwards into that area.

I'm wondering now how many near misses there were before this happened to Caleb.

I would think that without the netting, he would have been launched off the ride entirely, and died a horrific death when he slammed into the pavement instead.

[Anonymous]

This tragic incident is just hitting way to close to home for me. I have a 10 year old boy who loves waterslides, plays baseball. I'm surprised at how much this is affecting me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why these talented designers did not hire real engineers to double check the design of this ride.

The injury to this boy was horrific and that netting that they used may have prevented the raft from going airborne and being launched off the tube entirely. But did they not account for what would happen to a person on that ride if they were launched into that netting? It appears that there are even designed gaps at points along the netting. If someone slammed into the edge of the netting at one of those gaps they would sustain an horrific injury - whether they themselves went airborne off the raft or the raft was launched upwards into that area.

I'm wondering now how many near misses there were before this happened to Caleb.

I would think that without the netting, he would have been launched off the ride entirely, and died a horrific death when he slammed into the pavement instead.

Yes, but one would think that if the netting was installed as a safety feature to prevent the rafts and riders from being launched off the ride that there would have also been some attention paid to the safety of a rider being launched into the net. Obviously being launched into the net was not safe.

[Anonymous]

How on earth can netting cause decapitation? I understand the raft was traveling at high speeds, but this is just insane to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the boy's funeral is Fri. So amidst the devastating loss, coping with it, and getting condolences from all over, the family has the presence of mind to sift through the (I'm guessing) multiple offers from attorneys to represent them? It's really hard to understand certain American's mindsets in rushing to get legal representation and sue within a few days of such tragedy. Sure they should sue, but what's the rush or advantage to select someone right now? They would have had to take time and effort to make an informed decision in their selection.

From the news:

The Schwabs have hired Michael Rader and Edward Robertson Jr. from the Leawood law firm Bartimus Frickleton Robertson. The firm said neither the family nor its lawyers would make public statements about the incident until an investigation was concluded.

You are incredibly naive. I can guarantee you that this poor grieving family has already been contacted by the lawyers for the water park. While not as horrible as this incident my child was injured at a big box store. The injury was severe. I went with him in the ambulance while my husband raced to the hospital with our other children. Before he could even find us the lawyer had found him. It was gross and disgusting and according to the hospital staff how it happens all the time. We couldn't think straight but they sure were.

Dad is a state rep. He knows who the oood pi firms are, even if he doesn't have a relationship with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This tragic incident is just hitting way to close to home for me. I have a 10 year old boy who loves waterslides, plays baseball. I'm surprised at how much this is affecting me.

My boys are older but I can say the same thing. They have loved these kinds of rides since they could first go on them.

I would have probably let them ride this water slide, too. It doesn't sound as though the parents of kids were being asked to sign waivers or anything as one might do when there is some risk of injury associated with an activity - like trampoline parks for instance.

The kid wasn't parasailing or bungee jumping. It was a water slide at an amusement park. To say that the parents should have known that this ride involved thrill seeker risk....is just incredible. No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This tragic incident is just hitting way to close to home for me. I have a 10 year old boy who loves waterslides, plays baseball. I'm surprised at how much this is affecting me.

My boys are older but I can say the same thing. They have loved these kinds of rides since they could first go on them.

I would have probably let them ride this water slide, too. It doesn't sound as though the parents of kids were being asked to sign waivers or anything as one might do when there is some risk of injury associated with an activity - like trampoline parks for instance.

The kid wasn't parasailing or bungee jumping. It was a water slide at an amusement park. To say that the parents should have known that this ride involved thrill seeker risk....is just incredible. No.

I let my kids ride this ride in June. I am sick to my stomach now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How on earth can netting cause decapitation? I understand the raft was traveling at high speeds, but this is just insane to me.

Could have been internal decapitation, that has not been fully clarified.

Basically the kid was clotheslined at 65 mph. I can totally see that causing decapitation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How on earth can netting cause decapitation? I understand the raft was traveling at high speeds, but this is just insane to me.

There was at least one gap on the slide that did not have netting - this gap appears to be there as part of the design, not because the net got torn or anything. If a person launched up from the raft at that gap and their neck collided with the edge of that netting structure --- ^ ---- at 65 or so mph they would be badly injured.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How on earth can netting cause decapitation? I understand the raft was traveling at high speeds, but this is just insane to me.

It's the metal/aluminium supports that are every 2-3 feet. I have other thoughts on actual decapitation, but it's really not even worth discussing anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How on earth can netting cause decapitation? I understand the raft was traveling at high speeds, but this is just insane to me.

This article provides a plausible explanation of how the injury happened. It's horrendous.

http://sandrarose.com/2016/08/caleb-schwab-10-decapitated-on-worlds-tallest-water-slide/