The family of Clayton Phillips, 13, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that missing seat restraints and falsified safety inspections led to his fatal fall from a Montana carnival ride.
The estate of Phillips sued the city-county government of Butte-Silver Bow, carnival operator Midway West Amusements, ride inspection company Shady Acres Safety Services, company owner Dennis Sutherland, and 20 unnamed individuals or entities in Butte-Silver Bow District Court last week. The filing claims that at least 10 chairs on the “Yo-Yo” swing ride had visible deficiencies including missing restraint components, yet workers cleared the attraction for operation anyway.
Phillips died on the evening of Sunday, June 21, at a hospital in Kalispell, Montana, two weeks after he was flung from the moving ride at the Butte Civic Center parking lot on Sunday, June 7. The annual pop-up carnival event had begun Thursday, June 4, and was run by Midway West Amusements, a traveling carnival company based in Arizona. Sheriff Ed Lester confirmed the boy “died as a result of the injuries he sustained,” in a statement shared with NBC Montana at the time.
The lawsuit alleges that improperly trained employees allowed Phillips to sit in a chair without proper restraints, or that the restraint system failed to keep him locked in. Michelle Jensen, the owner of Midway West, allegedly claimed after the accident that operators’ only precaution was telling riders not to use broken seats. She allegedly admitted problems with the ride to police and said replacement parts had been ordered, according to the filing.
Shady Acres allegedly inspected the ride at least twice in the month before the incident. Sutherland signed off on inspections that concluded there were no serious issues, the complaint states. The government of Butte-Silver Bow was responsible for the premises and had authority to “reasonably inspect the carnival premises and the passenger-loading areas of the rides,” the suit claims.
In the viral moment that preceded the legal action, Phillips fell from the Yo-Yo ride while it was going full speed during the parking lot carnival. Police reported the ride was immediately shut down and cordoned off, and all carnival rides at the event were suspended as a precaution. Butte Civic Center director Bill Melvin confirmed to local outlets that Phillips was riding the Yo-Yo attraction when the incident occurred. Melvin said the Civic Center had used Midway West Amusements for two years with no previous issues.
The family is seeking “all compensatory, general, special, economic, and noneconomic damages recoverable by the Estate,” plus the cost of the victim’s suffering, lost earnings, funeral expenses, and recoverable costs of emergency and medical response. The estate also seeks punitive damages from all named defendants. In a statement shared with KXLF on June 9, the family asked for privacy and prayers: “Thank you to all of you whom have reached out to us with genuine concern and positive thoughts, as we are leaning on those with every ounce of being. Your continued prayers and well wishes are the most important need at this time.”
Montana is one of few states without statewide oversight of carnival rides, though the legislature adopted laws last year requiring certifications for rides examined by qualified inspectors. The Yo-Yo attraction remained in Butte following the incident while the rest of the rides continued to the next stop, according to a June 18 report from KBZK. The sheriff confirmed the law enforcement investigation was “basically” finished, though a certified inspector was still needed to examine the attraction.
The lawsuit remains pending in Butte-Silver Bow District Court with no trial date set.