The family of a two-year-old girl who lost a toe after injuring it by going down a slide in a splash pad area has filed a lawsuit seeking restitution from the town of Bourne, Mass., and the companies who helped to build the park.
According to the Cape Cod Times, Suzanne MacDonald, the girl’s mother, filed a complaint seeking $944,519 to cover her daughter’s medical bills and as compensation for the traumatic amputation of the girl’s toe.
In addition to the town, the company that designed the splash pad, the company that installed it, and the company that manufactured and sold the slide are all named as defendants in the suit.
The injury occurred at the splash pad at Buzzards Bay Park in July of 2018. The slide had a vertical crack in it, and the girl’s toe got caught in it, severing it from her foot.
According to MacDonald’s complaint, rescue personnel saw a protruding bone about 1 inch from where the toe had been. Meanwhile, responding police officers saw that caution tape, apparently intended to block the slide’s entrance, had been discarded and a sign that read “Do Not Use” was found on the ground.
State law provides some liability protection for owners who permit public recreation on their property, provided that the owner has not been willful, wanton or reckless.
Whether that’s the case with the town of Bourne will be the subject of legal question.
“Bourne’s action does rise to the level of negligence,” said family attorney Scott Holmes. “It clearly does.”
Meanwhile, the little girl who lost her toe is struggling with balance issues, and will likely deal with a permanent disability.
“It’s a lifelong injury,” Holmes told the Cape Cod Times.
