A young woman who was struck by a fast-moving rollercoaster and dropped nine metres is suing its operator after WorkSafe dismissed charges against it.
Shylah Rodden, 29, has launched legal proceedings against Chant Amusements Pty Ltd through her mother and legal guardian, Kylie Rodden, following the incident at the 2022 Royal Melbourne Show.
Despite a WorkSafe investigation earlier this year clearing Chant Amusements of responsibility for the incident, Ms Rodden’s legal representation claim it did not properly prevent people from entering the rollercoaster track.
Ms Rodden sustained life-changing injuries on September 25, 2022, after entering the rollercoaster track through the arrival platform to retrieve her mobile phone, which she dropped during the ride.
She is seeking damages to cover loss of earnings over her lifetime on the grounds of alleged negligence and breach of duty of care.
A writ and statement of claim were lodged with the County Court of Victoria on December 20, the Herald Sun reported.
Ms Rodden will be represented by Arnold Thomas & Becker lawyer Sharlene Mehta, who also handled her dealing with WorkSafe.
The authority’s investigation in August found Ms Rodden was partly to blame for the incident, an inside source told Daily Mail Australia.
Shylah Rodden (pictured) is suing Chant Amusements after she was hit by one of its rollercoasters in 2022
Ms Rodden (pictured wearing black on the rollercoaster track, moments before the collision) suffered life-changing injuries from the crash
Ride operators allegedly told Ms Rodden the ride would be stopped to allow her to retrieve her phone but she would need to wait 30 minutes.
The investigation is understood to have found the operators had taken every precaution to ensure the safety of showgoers.
‘They did all that. They followed their systems, they followed the processes they had in place,’ the source said.
‘The workers there followed their training as they were told to do and that’s where the obligations are.
‘That’s where any charges the authority could lay are and have nothing to do with any decisions that one person may have made to get around those systems and processes that were in place by the (operator).’
The ride operator was already familiar with those processes, given the number of items that routinely get dropped from the ride, the source said.
That system does not see the ride stopped each and every time a customer alerts the operator.
‘With a rollercoaster that kind of thing happens all the time,’ they added.
A WorkSafe investigation earlier this year concluded Ms Rodden (pictured recently) was largely responsible for the crash
In spite of her horrific injuries, Ms Rodden (pictured in hospital) has regained the ability to walk and talk
‘Stuff falls out of people’s pockets literally every time the ride goes around so they have a system in place to ensure that when things fall out people can get it back.
‘They keep the ride going because they can’t stop it every time otherwise they’d be doing it all day, everyday.
‘They have set times when they can shut it down and let people go and collect their stuff.’
However, WorkSafe’s investigation was called into question by lawyer Ms Mehta who claimed Ms Shodden and her family were not properly consulted through the process.
The newly-lodged court document outlined Ms Rodden’s long list of life-altering injuries from the collision.
They included skull fractures, brain haemorrhage, injuries to the left carotid and right vertebral arteries, abdominal injuries, damage to the liver and small bowel, fractures to the thoracic spine, a broken right wrist, a broken left arm, pelvic fractures, a broken right ankle, broken left hand, a right eye haemorrhage, chest injuries, multiple fractured ribs, and psychological injury.
Still, she beat all the odds and has managed to regain her ability to walk and talk.
Ms Rodden’s (pictured) legal representation claim Chant Amusements did not properly prevent people from entering the rollercoaster track
Among the allegations against Chant Amusements, Ms Rodden’s legal team claim it did not have enough staff on the arrival platform, lacked an adequate one-way access system to the platform, did not have sufficient fencing to prevent access to the track area and failed to properly instruct riders to remove valuables before boarding.
Ms Rodden was unemployed at the time of the incident but was studying a Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs.
It’s understood she is now studying for a for a Certificate IV in Community Services but has a reduced work capacity which is ‘likely to continue indefinitely’.
‘The Plaintiff claims loss of earnings to date and to retirement age,’ court documents read.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Chant Amusements, Arnold Thomas & Becker, and Kylie Rodden for comment.
