EDWARDSVILLE - A Missouri woman is suing a Grafton zipline company over injuries she received after slamming into a tree trunk at the end of the ride.
The lawsuit by Theresa King filed April 8 in Madison County Circuit Court names Grafton Zipline Adventures LLC and employees Brady Ellis and Erik Hinks as defendants.
Ellis lives in Madison County and Hinks in Jersey County.
King was the last of 11 zipline riders in a group June 9, 2018, the suit said. Ellis was at the “catching guide” the end of the line and responsible for making sure the riders stopped and disembarked safely. Some of the zipline wire cables are suspended hundreds of feet in the air, according to the complaint.
“Ellis wrongly believed that the 10th member of the group was the final guest rider,” the suit states.Hinks sent King down the zipline without communicating to Ellis that she was on her way, King's suit states. When King was coming across the zipline, Ellis thought it was Hinks and failed to "keep a proper lookout" for King, the complaint alleges.
When King arrived at the end of the ride, “there was nothing to slow her speed, no braking mechanism, no catching mechanism,” according to the complaint.
She hit a tree trunk, severely injuring her knee, arm, elbow, hip and back. She also suffered lost work and lost wages.
Ellis and Hinks were “unfit” for the jobs they held due to their age, lack of experience and lack of training, the suit says.
“This unfitness created a danger to third persons, including Plainfiff,” the lawsuit alleges.
The suit seeks damages in excess of $50,000 plus court costs.
Grafton Zipline Adventures LLC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 2020-L-515