Personal Injury Law

California Ice Rink Injury Results in $10 Million Wrongful Death Suit

By Michael

The family of a woman who died after she struck her head during a fall while ice skating at a city rink in Irvine, Calif. recently filed a $10 million claim against the city that could lead to a wrongful death lawsuit.

The claim filed on behalf of Cherlynn Tang, who died in February at the Great Park ice rink, claims the city did not maintain a safe enough skating rink for visitors. Tang fell while skating with her teenage children, according to the Orange County Register.

The claim alleges that Tang fell backward in a puddle of melted water on the skating rick, and as a result she sustained a fatal head injury. The claim reads that aside from not maintaining a safe skating rink, the city also didn?t have necessary emergency medical care ready to help and didn?t incorporate safety rules for the rink, according to the Register.

Representatives from the city declined to comment.

An attorney representing the Tang family said the lack of on-site medical personnel contributed to a 20-minute delay from when Tang fell to when emergency staff could tend to her.

?Clearly the city of Irvine had absolutely no idea what they were doing here,? Attorney Ed Susolik said. ?They had no safety precautions, no medical personnel there, no training. What do you do when someone gets injured? These are basic responsibilities that business owners have.?

Tang was injured around 12:30 p.m. on February 14, toward the end of a 45-minute skating session, according to the Register. Attendees had just been instructed to leave the rink when the accident happened.

Tang was treated at the rink by paramedics and then she was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, Calif., where she was pronounced dead from personal injury two days later.

City officials said recently that Tang had not been wearing a helmet when she fell, and that helmets were an option available to all people visiting the rink. Safety monitors were also on hand during the skating sessions, according to the officials

The Tang family?s lawyer argued further that the city should not have kept the rink open during weather warm enough to melt the ice, and said the melting led city staff to resurface it about every hour.

?Ice skating is an activity you do when it is 40 or 50 degrees outside,? Susolik said. ?You don’t build an ice rink on a beach in Hawaii, and then get surprised when people fall.?

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on April 06, 2010 (boomark / email).