Chuck E. Cheese answers injury suit; says mom responsible for watching child

Asserting contributory negligence, Chuck E. Cheese recently answered a suit brought by Cassandra Diggles, who sued the restaurant after her daughter hit her head while playing on a ride.

As previously reported, Diggles filed suit against Chuck E. Cheese on Dec. 22 in Jefferson County District Court, claiming the popular establishment owed her a duty to warn of the dangers of her daughter playing unattended.

On Feb. 21, Chuck E. Cheese filed its answer to the suit, asserting Diggles "failed to exercise ordinary care ... by failing to keep a proper lookout while playing at the restaurant."

"Accordingly, Chuck E. Cheese asserts the affirmative defense of contributory negligence and asks that plaintiffs' comparative fault be submitted to the jury," the answer states.

According to the lawsuit, on Jan. 19, 2009, Diggles and her daughter were at the Beaumont pizza restaurant. Diggles' daughter was playing when she fell and hit her head on the corner of a ride, causing a laceration on her forehead.

"The object had very sharp edges that were not covered," the suit states. "Plaintiffs would show that defendant owed a duty to the general public ... to protect and safeguard plaintiffs from unreasonably dangerous conditions or to warn of their existence."

Diggles is suing for loss of parental consortium and her daughter's mental anguish, impairment, disfigurement and future diminished earning capacity.

She is represented by Beaumont attorney Jonathan Juhan.

Kingwood attorney Brenton Monteleone represents the defendant.

Judge Donald Floyd, 172nd District Court, is presiding over the case.

Case No. E189-008