School district sued for negligence

LIABILITY: Wendy Kihlstadius, whose son died in May 2004 after falling off an inflatable obstacle course, says the district, rental company and manufacturer are at fault.

By Katy Stech
Duluth News Tribune Staff Writer

The mother of a Two Harbors teenager who died in May 2004 after falling off an inflatable obstacle course has filed a lawsuit against the school district in Two Harbors and two other defendants.

Eighteen-year-old Seth Kihlstadius died May 21, 2004, after suffering a fatal head injury at a post-prom party. The injury occurred when Kihlstadius flipped off the top of an inflatable obstacle course and landed on his head, said Andy Haugan, who organized the event.

The student's mother, Wendy Kihlstadius, filed a lawsuit Feb. 28 saying the Lake Superior school district did not provided adequate training for parents who were supervising the device. The district has denied negligence, according to its attorney, Tim Strom. He declined to discuss further details.

"I'm sure the parents at these things want to do a good job supervising, but someone needs to educate them, and that's the job of the manufacturer and the business that is going to rent them out," said Duluth attorney Paul Schweiger of Sieben Grose Von Holtum & Carey, who is representing Kihlstadius.

Each year, a committee of Two Harbors parents organizes the Alcohol and Drug Free Prom Party, which is at the high school gym, Haugan said.

In mid-May 2005, two defendants were added to the lawsuit, Duluth-based Doucette's Party and Tent Rentals and Eagan-based Cutting Edge Creations, which manufactures inflatable amusement devices.

The attorney for Doucette's, Richard Scattergood, said the business plans to deny responsibility for Kihlstadius's death when it responds formally to the lawsuit. This is the first lawsuit against Doucette's, he said.

Bob Field, vice president of Cutting Edge Creations, said he also plans to deny that his company was negligent in response to the lawsuit.

For an additional fee, Doucette's can provide trained attendants, but none were hired for the Two Harbors party, he said.

"Doucette's rents this out and doesn't adequately train or advise these adults what they should be doing," Schweiger said.

"It clearly states on the warning label: no jumping, tumbling or flipping," Field said, pointing out that "hundreds of kids" had used it before Kihlstadius that night at Two Harbors without injuring themselves.

Cutting Edge attaches a 2-foot-by-3-foot label at the beginning of its obstacle courses that says a "trained operator" must attend the device.

Field said inadequate supervision is the main issue behind similar lawsuits that his company has been a part of in the past.

"You end up getting rental companies that have five employees and 30 inflatables," he said. Employees "drop them off and pick them up in four or five hours and pray that no one got hurt."

Field added that other states, such as Massachusetts and New Jersey, recently have passed state laws to regulate the use of inflatable devices such as moonwalks and obstacle courses.

Kihlstadius seeks restitution of at least $50,000. A schedule for the lawsuit will probably be set in July.