The glass “Skyslide” nearly 1,000 feet above downtown Los Angeles attached to the west’s tallest skyscraper may have ruined a New York couple’s sex life.
The slide hasn’t been open yet for a month, but it’s already the target of a personal injury lawsuit over the wife’s broken ankle and the husband’s “loss of consortium.”
The managers and operators of the 72-story U.S. Bank Tower slide have been sued by the woman who says she broke her right ankle after coming down the glass-enclosed attraction on the side of the tallest building on the West Coast.
Gayle Yashar, 57, alleges negligence in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against OUE Skyspace LLC and Legends Hospitality LLC.
Her husband, Morty Yashar, is a co-plaintiff, claiming loss of consortium. The Yashars, of Woodmere, N.Y., are seeking unspecified damages.
According to Law.com, loss of consortium is “the inability of one’s spouse to have normal marital relations” as the result of an injury. Some sources, however, define the term simply as the deprivation of the benefits of a family relationship.
A representative for the building’s owners did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
According to the complaint, Gayle Yashar was injured July 3, eight days after the slide opened. The suit alleges the slide was designed in a way that those who use it cannot slow down enough before reaching the end.
The complaint filed Wednesday also alleges that there are stacked mats at the end of the slide runout area.
“This created a gap that trapped the covered feet of riders,” the suit says. “This increased the risk of serious injury for an ankle fracture which was far beyond the risk assumed by the uninformed and unsuspecting riders.”
The owners also failed to warn riders of the risks involved in coming down the slide, the suit alleges.
The Yashars’ attorney, Barry Novack, said the audio portion of a video taken of Gayle Yashar’s run includes the sound of a crack as she reaches the bottom. She realized she hurt her ankle after she tumbled and then got up, Novack said.
–Staff and wire reports