EDMONTON – A spectator who was crushed by a wayward bull that jumped into the stands at the 2010 Canadian Finals Rodeo in Rexall Place has launched a $450,000 lawsuit.
Carol Edith MacKechnie filed a statement of claim this week that names Edmonton Northlands and the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association as defendants.
On Nov. 12, 2010, MacKechnie and her husband were in the first row of the stands watching the night’s bull-riding event when rider Tanner Girletz entered the arena atop Rewind, the bull.
Girletz was quickly thrown from Rewind, who then began to run along the inside of the fenced-off arena.
“The bull reached the area where MacKechnie and her husband were sitting and, suddenly and without warning, jumped over the fence railing in front of them, landing in the stands and crushing MacKechnie,” the lawsuit reads.
MacKechnie was 53 at the time.
MacKechnie suffered numerous injuries, including fractures to her pelvis, cheek bone and orbital bone. She also claims she suffered many cuts and bruises, brain injuries, various internal injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder and “acceleration of pre-existing early on-set Alzheimer’s disease.”
MacKechnie claims that there was a failure to build a fence tall enough to keep the bull from the crowd and she was not properly warned about the potential danger in her attendance at the CFR. Also, the lawsuit states, employees were not properly trained and failed to corral Rewind, even though there was ample time to do so before he jumped into the crowd.
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The statement says that the 2010 CFR was the first major indoor event to use Rewind in competition.
The animal was also purposely agitated, the claim states, by “playing very loud rock music before and during the bull’s ride, as well as loud sound effects and flash lighting, which they knew or ought to have known, would aggravate and excite the bull.”
MacKechnie is suing for $450,000 and the province is suing for an additional $50,000 to cover her hospital and rehabilitation bills.
Statements of claim contain allegations not proven in court.
A statement of defence has not yet been filed.
This year’s edition of the Canadian Finals Rodeo runs from Nov. 7-11.
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