Inset: Clayton Phillips (Legacy.com/Duggan Dolan Mortuary). Background: The Montana carnival ride that allegedly killed Clayton Phillips (KTVM).
A 13-year-old Montana boy was hurled off a "Yo-Yo" swing ride and later died after carnival workers signed off on safety inspections despite "visible and readily discoverable" deficiencies — including missing restraints, a lawsuit says.
The estate of Clayton Phillips is suing the city-county government of Butte-Silver Bow, Midway West Amusements, ride inspection company Shady Acres Safety Services, Shady Acres Safety Services owner Dennis Sutherland, and 20 yet-to-be-identified "persons or entities responsible for the inspection, maintenance, assembly, supervision, management, loading, or operation of the Yo-Yo ride or carnival," according to local NBC affiliate KTVM.
Phillips' family alleges that at least 10 of the chairs of the Yo-Yo had deficiencies when Phillips was thrown from the ride in early June. He died weeks later.
Chairs with missing restraint components remained on the ride on the day of the incident, according to the family's legal complaint.
Midway West owner Michelle Jensen says that the only precaution taken was operators verbally instructing riders to not use the deficient chairs, per the complaint. Improperly trained employees allowed Phillips to be placed on a chair that lacked proper restraints and failed to keep him secured, his family says.
Jensen admitted that there were deficiencies when she spoke with police after the incident, according to the complaint. She allegedly stated that replacement parts were on order.
Shady Acres Safety Services is accused of inspecting the ride at least twice in the month before the incident. Sutherland signed off on the inspections and claimed there were no meaningful issues, according to the complaint.
Butte-Silver Bow had a duty to exercise reasonable care in the "ownership, management, supervision, and control of its premises," and the authority to "reasonably inspect the carnival premises and the passenger-loading areas of the rides," the complaint states.
It also should have required Midway West to "disclose known deficiencies and outstanding replacement parts," per the complaint.
Phillips' family is seeking "all compensatory, general, special, economic, and noneconomic damages recoverable by the Estate," the cost of the victim's suffering, lost earnings, funeral expenses, recoverable costs of the emergency and medical response, and more, KTVM reports.
Butte-Silver Bow, Midway West Amusements and Shady Acres Safety Services have not commented on the wrongful death lawsuit. They have three weeks to provide a formal response in court, according to KTVM.
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