Park Side has filed a cross complaint against Eastern Jungle Gym, bringing them into the lawsuit initiated by the family. Eastern Jungle Gym manufactured the brackets used with the swing frame that fell over causing the death of a 3-year-old child.
Park Side alleges that the brackets did not come with any written instructions, and they relied on the product description on Amazon. At the time of the purchase, Park Side says, the description said that anchors were available “if desired,” though it has since been updated to “recommend anchoring.” Park Side further claims that the brackets were “negligent in design” and that Eastern Jungle Gym “failed to properly warn of the risks of serious injury and/or death.”
Eastern Jungle Gym denies any wrongdoing.
There are multiple reviews on Amazon for the bracket kit that mention the lack of printed instructions, like Park Side claims. Eastern Jungle Gym’s current product page “recommends” anchoring, but archived versions confirm anchoring used to be described as “if desired”.
Park Side says in the court filing that “ordinary consumers would not have recognized the potential risks.” But Park Side was not an ordinary consumer. They were a licensed preschool, subject to specific regulations requiring anchoring and padding. Before the incident, Director Heather Mitchell asserted that she knew “what to do … for safety and licensing purposes.” After, the preschool claimed they had “again reviewed the requirements” (emphasis added). Park Side was cited and ultimately shut down for failing to follow these regulations.
The civil trial is scheduled for June 2020.