Spraypark lawsuit is filed
By CRAIG FOX
Finger Lakes Times
cfox@fltimes.com
GENEVA - A Rochester attorney and a nationally known Seattle law firm have filed a class action suit on behalf of families who became sick after visiting the spraypark at Seneca Lake State Park.
The Seattle law firm of Marler Clark and Rochester attorney Paul Nunes filed the case Tuesday against the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which owns and runs the state park.
The four-year-old sprayground was closed Aug. 15 after about 40 people complained of a gastrointestinal illness. In subsequent weeks, reports of the outbreak grew to nearly 4,000 people across the state and nation.
The state Health Department determined the illness was cryptosporidiosis, caused by a microscopic parasite.
The lawsuit was filed with the state Attorney General's office and it names Monroe County residents Timothy and Jacqueline Springer and their three children as the plaintiffs, but Nunes and the Seattle law firm also are representing several other families.
The Springer family became ill with the gastrointestinal illness after visiting the spraypark July 26, said Seattle attorney Bill Marler. Timothy Springer suffered such a severe case of the illness that he was hospitalized for three days, Marler said.
"Thousands of other people suffered the sane fate because the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Places failed to ensure the water at the spraypark was safe," Marler said.
Wendy Gibson, spokeswoman for the state parks office, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday night.
Two weeks ago, Nunes and the Seattle firm took the first step in filing a lawsuit by filing a notice of claim with the state attorney general's office.
The class action lawsuit will proportionately divide any damages awarded to any claimants who become involved in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is on behalf of people who were:
# Hospitalized for three days and had complications or invasive procedures;
# Admitted to an in-patient unit for hospitalization;
# Received outpatient medical care, including administration of IV fluids and;
# Received minimal medical care.
Last week, an Albany firm also filed a notice of claim involving another class action lawsuit on behalf of other families who became sick after visiting the spraypark.
On Aug. 26, the state Health Department concluded it will rewrite regulations governing water quality at all sprayparks and will implement them by November.
Marler has maintained that there is an ongoing problem with water quality in sprayparks across the country, with about 170 outbreaks at a variety of water recreational venues during between 1989 and 1999.
Many sprayparks across the country have been permanently closed after outbreaks have occurred, Marler said. So far, 33 people have been hospitalized with cryptosporidiosis from the Seneca Lake spraypark outbreak.
