Kings Island case: Does video show litigant exaggerated her injuries?

Woman hurt on Son of Beast has spent $25,000 in medical costs; expert says she will require hip replacements.

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By Denise G. Callahan, Staff Writer 5:04 AM Saturday, October 17, 2009

LEBANON — Jurors in the Kings Island lawsuit over the 2006 Son of Beast accident will begin deliberating next week.

Kings Island rested its case Friday, Oct. 16, in Warren County Common Pleas Court after producing only two “witnesses” — one a videotaped deposition of a medical expert and the other video surveillance of Jennifer Wright, the woman who is suing them.

Wright boarded the ride on July 9 with her boyfriend and one of her sons. When she took the stand earlier in the day Friday she — at times tearfully — described how she was injured.

“All of a sudden it felt like we hit a brick wall. Bam! Then the restraint clicked onto me four times,” she said. “It hurt like hell. My first instinct was, we were going off the track and were going to die.”

Wright and 26 other riders were sent to the hospital after the trains hit a span of track that had separated due to a support beam failure. She suffered injuries to her right hip and lower back. She still suffers and one medical expert testified Friday she will need a future hip replacement.

Dr. Joseph Paley had the courtroom, including presiding Judge James Flannery, in stitches a few times, with his gruff, at times irreverent testimony. He is an orthopedic surgeon who no longer performs surgery but is an expert on the discipline.

After examining Wright, X-rays and medical records, he said her condition is worsening.

Paley had Wright lie on a courtroom table so he could perform an examination. As he manipulated her right leg, to test her hip, she grimaced and looked about ready to cry. When she returned to the plaintiff’s table she was gripping the arms of her chair in apparent pain and took some Motrin.

Paley said though Wright will need a hip replacement, he doesn’t recommend anyone younger than 50 go through the procedure, so she may be advised to wait 10 years.

Currently, hip replacements last only about 15 years, Paley said, testifying that Wright possibly could be a candidate for two or three such surgeries.

Another witness, an accountant, told the jurors that three such surgeries would cost about $160,000.

Kings Island’s attorney Chip Finke produced his own medical expert, a former emergency room doctor who works with various agencies on determining when injured people are able to return to work. Dr. Paul Hogya also poured over Wright’s medical records and examined her. He classified her as a noncandidate for hip replacement.

“In my opinion, you can’t predict that,” he said. “Certainly not with the evidence we have here.”

Finke also rolled footage of a private investigator’s surreptitious film of Wright in May, showing her shopping and putting her 5-year-old son into her car, her left leg lifting up as she buckled him in. She also was seen carrying a box of what appears to be groceries into a house. In one clip is looked like she may be wearing healed sandals.

Wright’s attorney John Scaccia has also asked for punitive damages. Kings Island has admitted liability in the accident so the jury must decide compensatory damages — she claims she has racked up almost $25,000 in medical bills — and pain and suffering.

As a result of tort reform legislation, noncompensatory damages are capped at $250,000, or three times the economic loss. Punitive damages are capped at two times compensatory damages.

The jury will hear final arguments Monday, Oct. 19, before they begin deliberations. Depending on what decision is reached, the punitive phase could immediately follow.

Finke said he cannot comment on ongoing litigation.

Scaccia said he was pleased with his client’s testimony.

“This is a very emotional time for Jennifer,” he said. “I think she did well.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.

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