Park settles roller coaster injury suit

LEBANON, Ohio, March 21 (UPI) -- An Ohio amusement park owner Monday settled the last of many lawsuits resulting from a 2006 ride accident that injured 27 patrons.

Cedar Fair, owner of Kings Island, settled with Jonathan Yanik of Ashland, Ky., for an undisclosed sum just as jury selection was starting in Warren County Common Pleas Court in Lebanon, Ohio, The Dayton Daily News reported.

Yanik was the last plaintiff suing Cedar Fair for the accident on the Son of Beast wooden roller coaster in Mason, Ohio.

A weak support was blamed for the bumpy ride, and the Son of Beast was closed briefly. It was shut down for good in 2009 after another complaint.

Colleen Hegge, Yanik's lawyer, said he sustained a shoulder injury that required surgery, has spent $22,521 on medical bills so far and has lost $22,000 in wages.

The lawsuit sought $500,000 in compensatory damages and more than $350,000 in punitive damages.

All the other suits but one were settled before trial. In that case, Jennifer Wright of Defiance, Ohio, won $76,364 in compensatory damages and undisclosed punitive damages for hip and lower back injuries.

Rick Schmizze, who investigated the accident for the state, testified in a deposition that Cedar Fair had known of problems with the ride since 2000.