As warm weather approaches, families across the country flock to water parks, beaches, stadiums and amusement parks. Yet each year many of these destinations are plagued with safety issues, dangerous equipment, and incidents of injury and even death. From Florida to California, true tales of good times turned nightmare are becoming somewhat of a summer standard.
Add to the list of use-at-your-own-risk attractions the famous Coca-Cola bottle slide, The Guzzler, at the San Francisco Giants’ waterfront ballpark. The Guzzler launches thrill seekers through a 60-foot green Coke bottle via metal tubes. There have been at least 55 documented injuries that occurred on the slide, which has failed to pass two safety inspections over the last couple of years.
Chad Mello, who suffered injuries to his left knee and ankle on the slide in the summer of 2008, slapped the Giants with a $6 million lawsuit. Injuries like those that Mello endured occur when the foot of someone riding the slide accidentally gets lodged and in turn the slider’s leg gets twisted. Mello’s attorney claimed that the man’s injuries left him with chronic pain and that his leg sustained permanent damage. The lawsuit also alleged that both Coca-Cola and the Giants have known of the slide’s dangers yet posted no warning signs nor scheduled no safety repairs to be made to the slide.
Hags Play, the designers of The Guzzler, have already settled with Chad Mello for an undisclosed amount. Settlements relating to The Guzzler are almost becoming more famous than the slide itself. Mello’s is the fourth lawsuit of its kind since the park opened in 2000. Two women, both of whom suffered from broken knees in 2001 and 2003, respectively, each settled with the Giants and Coca-Cola in confidential agreements. The third case, involving a woman who suffered knee injuries, was also settled out of court for $177,823 in 2008.
