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Ah yes. It happens every time. People wander through who haven't read the information.
Has anyone even investigators determined the child wasn't being allowed to wander? I saw conflicting accounts. And I think the parents reported he had been walking ahead of them-- apparently far enough ahead to become trapped in a compromised position before they caught up to him. I don't have experience having been in a rotating type restaurant but one poster above stated she had and they move at snail pace-- so if that's true, I think that sounds more or less the case since it wasn't designed to spin quickly around, so if it moved at a snail pace, how did he get further in to that point before the parents got there to begin trying to pull him out?
So we have parents account he quietly ate, didn't walk around at all or climb around, and was only a few steps ahead when he got stuck. There were otoh some diners who said he was roaming around, under the table etc. So at this point unless I've missed something there are conflicting accounts but no one proven conclusion.
Most of all it is just plain sad, so sad for the boy and his family, and yes even sad for the restaurant staff who didn't do anything wrong but show up to work to serve food. For 41 yrs the Sun Dial has been in business without anyone even attempting to shimmy behind a very small triangular space behind a booth, frankly I have a hard time understanding how a person of any size could fit in a five inch space.. maybe a 1 day old baby but that wouldn't be a worry as newborn infants wouldn't be able to wander around anyways.
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"This too shall pass. But possibly, like a kidney stone."
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Originally Posted by mondayafternoons
Has anyone even investigators determined the child wasn't being allowed to wander? I saw conflicting accounts. And I think the parents reported he had been walking ahead of them-- apparently far enough ahead to become trapped in a compromised position before they caught up to him. I don't have experience having been in a rotating type restaurant but one poster above stated she had and they move at snail pace-- so if that's true, I think that sounds more or less the case since it wasn't designed to spin quickly around, so if it moved at a snail pace, how did he get further in to that point before the parents got there to begin trying to pull him out?
So we have parents account he quietly ate, didn't walk around at all or climb around, and was only a few steps ahead when he got stuck. There were otoh some diners who said he was roaming around, under the table etc. So at this point unless I've missed something there are conflicting accounts but no one proven conclusion.
Most of all it is just plain sad, so sad for the boy and his family, and yes even sad for the restaurant staff who didn't do anything wrong but show up to work to serve food. For 41 yrs the Sun Dial has been in business without anyone even attempting to shimmy behind a very small triangular space behind a booth, frankly I have a hard time understanding how a person of any size could fit in a five inch space.. maybe a 1 day old baby but that wouldn't be a worry as newborn infants wouldn't be able to wander around anyways.
Yes, it seems likely he was wandering around, maybe even running around, maybe sitting under the table at one point. But I think it's true that the family was leaving together when this happened. They went toward the opening, and he scooted behind the couch to wedge himself through the small space. Like some kids like to do. Some kids won't do that, but some kids will.
And my guess is, this has happened a lot - where things almost get stuck there, or people almost get stuck. A waiter darting through at the last moment, etc. I would bet that waitstaff have to warn patrons regularly, 'you'll want to get your coat off the back of that booth, it's about to be wedged in'.
No one had died there, that's true. It's likely there wasn't the child with just that personality scooting through there at just that perfect moment where he could fit in and didn't immediately try to get back out. Because yes, those things spin slow so patrons won't get dizzy - but had he approached that table 30 seconds before or 30 seconds later, he might still be alive.
I've seen a lot of lawsuits over the years around negligence claims.
I'd be curious to know what the insurance coverage is and of course they're going to sue everybody involved from the building to the restaurant to the architect and so forth.
At this point the only major variable is HOW MUCH gets paid out to the family.
Often entire legal defense strategies are based on reducing the claim as there is no chance of winning outright.
Ok here is a NYPost article on it. Apparently the family had gone back and forth to the restrooms going behind that booth so at some point in time during the rotation there is sufficient room that an adult can get behind there. The parents say he was a little ahead of them and heading behind the booth but being small he couldn't see that the space was narrowing as the room rotated. If this is the case, then passage behind booths should be blocked or the booth's should be moved enough away from the wall that people can't be stuck behind. There also should be a big master shutoff right on that wall. https://nypost.com/2017/11/20/worst-...ng-restaurant/
41 years and only one person has died, correct? Any other injuries? Somehow I think this is just a tragic accident and an example of how closely you have to watch your kids rather than something the restaurant did wrong or any sort of faulty design. I fail to see how he could have got caught in such a small space in the amount of time the parents claim, with him only being mere feet in front of him as they allege. I hate when suits like this are filed. Sometimes accidents are just accidents. It’s unreasonable to expect that any person would get caught in such a tight space. Keep your kid away from moving parts you have no control over, even if they’re slow moving.
Also, I’ve read in two articles in my own searches that the floor automatically turned off when he got stuck. I guess this isn’t true? Or another disputed fact?
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"This too shall pass. But possibly, like a kidney stone."
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415
41 years and only one person has died, correct? Any other injuries? Somehow I think this is just a tragic accident and an example of how closely you have to watch your kids rather than something the restaurant did wrong or any sort of faulty design. I fail to see how he could have got caught in such a small space in the amount of time the parents claim, with him only being mere feet in front of him as they allege. I hate when suits like this are filed. Sometimes accidents are just accidents. It’s unreasonable to expect that any person would get caught in such a tight space. Keep your kid away from moving parts you have no control over, even if they’re slow moving.
Also, I’ve read in two articles in my own searches that the floor automatically turned off when he got stuck. I guess this isn’t true? Or another disputed fact?
No, the floor didn't turn off, and that was the whole problem. While they were working on getting him out - which was doable, the booth became more and more tightly wedged until finally his skull cracked. Awful.
A waiter jumped over flight of stairs to turn the mechanism off, at some risk to himself, which isn't mentioned in the lawsuit.
No, the floor didn't turn off, and that was the whole problem. While they were working on getting him out - which was doable, the booth became more and more tightly wedged until finally his skull cracked. Awful.
A waiter jumped over flight of stairs to turn the mechanism off, at some risk to himself, which isn't mentioned in the lawsuit.
It’s always interesting when police reports initially are wrong. That’s a pretty major fact to get wrong.
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