Did a Teen Contract a Brain Eating Amoeba from a North Carolina Waterpark?

North Carolina is home to splendid natural beauty and wonder as well as cultural curiosities. That’s why people from all over the world come to our fantastic state, but one such visit turned to tragedy last year. Now parents want justice for their daughter, and they have turned to the civil justice system to do it.

Is a North Carolina Waterpark Responsible for a Brain Eating Amoeba Death?

A youth group from Church of the Messiah in Ohio were travelling and singing in other churches and nursing homes here in North Carolina. The group decided to take a break from their travels at the U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC) in Charlotte. They were having fun, even when one of the raft they were on overturned. The boat was righted, and none of the passengers were hurt, but that changed just a few days later when one of the group members fell ill.

The 18-year-old had just returned from the church trip when she grew ill and was taken to the hospital. There, doctors diagnosed her with a rare brain infection caused by the Naegleria Fowleri amoeba. She passed just a few days later.

Now this girl’s parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the USNWC and the firm that created it, Recreation Engineering and Planning. They claim that the USNWC center was the only place the girl could have been exposed to the amoeba and an investigation by the CDC found that the center had an elevated concentration of these microbes. The defendants claim that they have always maintained their water purity at government mandated levels, but many question whether what they did was enough.

When a property owner opens a business, they are expected to provide a reasonable measure of safety for their patrons. If they don’t, then they could be held responsible for any injuries or deaths that happen on the premises. Still a little foggy on the subject? Here’s premises liability attorney Gene Riddle to help you understand.