Injured audience member files suit against circus

A Collin County woman is suing a traveling circus, claiming she was struck by an inflatable slide. 

Cheryl Cory filed suit against George Carden International Circus Inc. on Dec. 10 in Collin County District Court. The defendant had the case removed to the Sherman Division of the Eastern District of Texas on Dec. 30.

According to the original petition, Cory was attending the circus on March 8 in the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco.

“At the time of the incident, it was intermission at the circus, Plaintiff was sitting in the front row,” the petition states. “While she was sitting down in her seat, an inflatable tiger slide came crashing down on top of her with multiple kids in the slide.”

The defendant is accused of negligence for allowing too many children to operate the slide at one time and failed to operate the slide correctly.

Because of this, the suit states, the “entire system, with the children, fell onto Plaintiff’s head.”

“Defendant either knew, or in the exercise of ordinary care should have known, that the inflatable tiger slide posed an unreasonable risk of harm to users of the premises,” the complaint states.

The circus “failed to take reasonable steps to discover and correct the hazard and failed to warn the plaintiff of the existence of this hazardous condition of the premises although the dangerous condition had existed on the premises for a period of time and should have been discovered and corrected by defendant,” according to the suit.

Cory is seeking damages for medical expenses, loss of earning capacity, physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement and physical impairment. She is also requesting interest, costs and other relief.

A jury trial is requested.

Spencer P. Browne of Reyes Browne & Reilley in Dallas is representing the plaintiff.

The defendant is represented by Clinton Cox IV and Robyn Wise of Fee Smith Sharp & Vitullo LLP in Dallas.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Richard Schell.

Case No.  4:13-cv-00760