It didn’t take long before L.A.’s latest attraction claimed its first injury, but according to a recently rejected lawsuit, the operators and managers of the U.S. Bank building’s Skyslide may be off the hook for now. According to recently filed legal papers, the Los Angeles Superior Court threw out a lawsuit against the Skyslide’s operator, Legends Hospitality LLC. and the building’s landlord, OUE Skyspace LLC., for damages stemming from a broken ankle, among other injuries.
Gayle Yashar, 57, filed suit against both companies on July 13. According to the lawsuit, Yashar suffered a broken ankle while riding the Skyslide on July 3, just eight days after the attraction opened to the public. The 1-1/4 inch slide, suspended nearly 1,000 feet above downtown Los Angeles, is designed to take riders from the 70th floor of the U.S. Bank to the 69th floor. There are also a set of stacked mats at the end of the slide to help cushion riders as they exit the slide.
In the lawsuit, Yashar alleged that not only did the owners fail to warn riders of the risks involved, but that the stacked mats created a gap that was capable of trapping riders’ feet, increasing their risk of serious injury. According to Yashar, this risk was well beyond what unsuspecting riders would assume.
However, a broken ankle wasn’t the only injury included in the lawsuit. Yashar’s husband and co-plaintiff, Morty Yashar, also alleges a “loss of consortium” due to the incident. According to the Cornell University Law School’s Legal Information Institute, this means “deprivation of the benefits of a family relationship, including affection and,” in Morty Yashar’s case, “sexual relations.”
Unfortunately, for the Yashars, there were several reasons the courts found in favor of the defendants. For starters, the defense stated that neither OUE Skyspace nor Legends Hospitality had control of the area where Yashar suffered her injuries and that both were unaware of any dangerous conditions, leaving them with no time to correct the problem before the accident occurred.
The defense also pointed out that Yashar released both OUE Skyspace and Legends Hospitality from any liability for injury prior to getting on the ride. As for the “loss of consortium” claim, the defense argued that they were unaware of the plaintiff’s “peculiar susceptibility” to emotional distress.
Photo Credit: hiconsumption.com
