10TV Segment featuring Attorney Mike Rourke
The attorneys at Rourke & Blumenthal are happy to announce that another step toward obtaining justice for the victims of the Fire Ball tragedy that occurred at the Ohio State Fair on July 26, 2017 has now been taken with the filing of a lawsuit against KMG International. This lawsuit is based on the grossly outrageous conduct of KMG in not only designing and marketing a clearly defective product in that the gondola arms of the Fire Ball were prone to catastrophic internal corrosion, but also that KMG had learned about this problem in 2012 and failed to warn the owners, operators, or riders of the Fire Ball. During investigation, a letter dated January 23, 2012 from an engineer at KMG International to Bill Kane of N.A.M.E. – Canada Co. outlined the problem with corrosion in the gondola arms of the Fire Ball and listed how to inspect for the problem and how to correct it. This letter specifically notes that when the wall thickness of the gondola attachment arm becomes less than 3.8 millimeters thick due to corrosion, it needs to be replaced. Studies performed by engineers following the Ohio State Fair tragedy noted wall thicknesses of 1 millimeter and less in all of the arms, including the gondola arm that failed and forever changed the lives of multiple victims. Had KMG alerted ride owners, operators, and the public to this danger in 2012, steps would have been taken to address the corrosion problem and inspect the gondola arms so that the type of catastrophic failure that occurred at the Ohio State Fair would have never occurred.
Complaint that was filed with the Superior Court of New Jersey regarding the Fireball case.
The attorneys at Rourke & Blumenthal, along with the other attorneys for the victims of the Fire Ball ride, look forward to aggressively pursuing these claims in Court against KMG. It is anticipated that discovery in this case will reveal even more information that establishes that the KMG design was grossly defective and further that KMG acted recklessly and fraudulently in failing to warn of this defective design in 2012 when it was brought to its attention.
Additional Media Coverage
Lawsuit against 'Fire Ball' manufacturer alleges company knew of defective product - ABC 6 / Fox 28 News