BIRCH BAY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A man injured at Birch Bay Waterslides has added multiple parties to his lawsuit, including the county health department.
On Friday, Nov. 22, a judge denied the request for a summary judgment in the suit against Birch Bay Waterslides.
But he did grant the plaintiff, Larry Baker, the opportunity to sue three other parties: Safe Slide Restoration, Kingworks Consulting Engineers and Whatcom County Health and Community Services.
Court documents state Baker was severely injured while going down the Hairpin slide in August of 2023.
Birch Bay Waterslides claimed no wrong-doing and demanded a jury trial in June of this year.
Baker now claims that the three additional parties were grossly negligent in their monitoring, recordkeeping and maintenance at the waterpark. This is a change from the original suit that claimed negligence against just the waterslide company.
In addition, a witness came forward to say he felt something wrong with the slide three separate times and mentioned it to staff twice.
An expert was brought in to inspect the slide and he observed disrepair, which he says implicates the owners’ knowledge about the necessary repairs.
“There is evidence of attempted repair or concealment of these issues in multiple places on the attraction, suggesting the defendant and/or its contractors knew the issues needed repair but failed to complete repairs or fastener replacement that would have prevented injury to the plaintiff,” the expert, identified as Randy King in court documents, wrote.
Birch Bay Waterslides recently announced they will be reopening for their 40th anniversary next summer.
