$8 Million awarded to Burnsville Teen in Sled accident

By David Chanen
Star Tribune Staff Writer

A 17-year-old Burnsville teen paralyzed from a sledding accident five years ago was awarded nearly $8 million after a jury found that the sled’s manufacturer didn’t provide adequate warnings or instructions for its safe use.

Luke Marcon, who will be a senior this fall at Burnsville High School, is paralyzed from the chest down and has only limited use of his arms. He said he was still in shock over the news, but ecstatic and happy to know “I’m financially taken care of for the rest of my life.”

“This verdict sends a message,” he said. “I just hope other companies take child safety into consideration in the future.”

Marcon was riding on a Snow Motion 760, a plastic sled made by Paris Manufacturing in Maine since the late 1970’s. During the three-week trial in Hennepin County District Court, professors, engineers and design experts testified that the sled was “inherently dangerous” because of its “abrupt, tub-like shape” in front, and sharp, protruding front tip prone to digging into bumps. Lawyers also said that Paris and Kmart Corp., which distributed the sled, didn’t test it for safety.

The award figure was $7.99 million, most of which will go for Luke’s lost earning capacity and extensive future medical bills. The jury didn’t find Kmart negligent. But because Paris went out of business in 1989, Kmart, the lawsuit’s other defendant, will be liable for the judgment.

The attorney for Kmart, Robert Stich, didn’t return telephone calls Monday night. The company has 30 days to appeal.

Marcon’s attorney, Art Kosieradzki, who is a partner with Sieben, Grose, Von Holtum & Carey in Minneapolis, said he was pleased that the jury agreed to award the family’s full request for $5.5 million to cover future medical expenses, but was disturbed that it still found that the sled wasn’t defective or unreasonably dangerous because of its design.

“It has the mechanics for catastrophe,” he said. “I hope they just let Luke get on with his life.”

Luke’s parents, John and Shelly, filed the lawsuit the summer following his accident in Neill Park in December 1991. Paris had sold thousands of the sleds, and Luke had used it for several years before the accident, which is one of the reasons Kmart’s lawyers described his case “as a fluke,” Kosieradzki said.

Although the sled is intended to be ridden with the person sitting inside it’s bucket-type design, witnesses saw Marcon in a kneeling position when he hit a bump near the end of the hill. The sled jammed into it, catapulting macron into the air. He hit the ground face-first and his body flipped over, snapping his neck. An adult at the scene said his face hit so hard that his braces were ripped from his teeth.

“We weren’t sure we were going to file a suit, but when eyewitnesses described the accident, it really changed our mind,” said Marcon’s father. “We realized, and it was reinforced during the trial, that Luke’s accident may have been caused by the sled’s design.”

His lawyers said the sled’s design encourages kids to kneel, giving them the false impression that that makes it easier to control. But it’s also easier to be thrown from the sled in this position, and actually more difficult to steer or use the two braking handles on the side.

More than 50,000 people are injured on sleds annually, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

John Marcon said Kmart made a small settlement offer before the trial, but “it was like a slap in the face.” He said the accident changed the whole complexion of his family’s lives. Besides remodeling the house to accommodate Luke’s new needs, his mother quit her job to take care of him.

“It’s been hard financially, but our main concern was that Luke had what he needed.” John Marcon said. “But we just didn’t do this just for Luke. Lord knows how many other kids have these sleds in their garages.”

He said Luke will use the money for traveling and to attend college. He said his son is an excellent student and was ranked seventh in his junior class. He said support from family members and church groups have helped him through some tough times.

“But he’s not just going to lay back,” he said.