Boy, 13, died after falling from carnival ride with missing seat restraints: lawsuit

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Key points

• Clayton fell from the ride while it was going full speed in the Butte Civic Center parking lot on Sunday, June 7, for an annual pop-up carnival event.
• Clayton Phillips died two weeks after he was flung from the moving ride in Butte, Montana, back in June.
• Shady Acres allegedly inspected the ride at least twice in the month before the incident – and Sutherland signed off on the inspections.
• She allegedly admitted challenges with the ride to police and stated replacement parts were ordered, the filing claims.

After carnival workers allegedly signed off on safety inspections despite a number of seats missing restraints, according to a new lawsuit, a 13-year-old boy died after he fell off a "Yo-Yo" carnival ride while it was going full speed.

Clayton's estate alleges that at least 10 of the chairs of the "Yo-Yo" ride had deficiencies – including missing restraint components – which were "visible and readily discoverable, " according to the lawsuit, obtained by NBC Montana.

Nevertheless, it is believed improperly trained employees allegedly allowed Clayton to sit in a chair without the proper restraints – and/or the restraint system failed to keep him locked in, according to the outlet.

In practice, the family is seeking punitive damages from the city-county administration of Butte-Silver Bow, Midway West Amusements, ride inspection business Shady Acres Safety Services, Shady Acres Safety Services owner Dennis Sutherland, and 20 yet-to-be-identified "persons or entities responsible for the inspection, maintenance, assembly, supervision, management, loading, or operation of the Yo-Yo ride or carnival."

Michelle Jensen, the owner of Midway West asserted after the horrific accident that the only precaution taken by operators was to tell riders not to apply the broken seats, according to the lawsuit filed in Butte-Silver Bow District Court last week.

Shady Acres allegedly inspected the ride at least twice in the month before the incident – and Sutherland signed off on the inspections. It concluded there were no serious problems, according to the complaint.

Notably, the administration of Butte-Silver Bow was responsible for the premises and had authority to "reasonably inspect the carnival premises and the passenger-loading areas of the rides, " the suit claims.

Clayton's family is seeking "all compensatory, general, special, economic, and noneconomic damages recoverable by the Estate, " the cost of the victim's suffering, lost earnings, funeral expenses, recoverable costs of the emergency and medical response, and more, the outlet documented.

Taken together, the developments around boy, 13, died after falling from carnival ride with missing seat restraints: point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.