Indiana girls who were injured in parasail crash get large settlement
Two Indiana teenagers who suffered brain damage and a slew of injuries in a horrific para-sailing accident in 2013 have finally reached a settlement in their lawsuit, according to their attorney.
Sidney Good and her friend Alexis Fairchild, both 17 years old at the time, were left in critical condition July 1, 2013, when their para-sail snapped free from its boat in Panama City, Florida, leaving the girls soaring through the air.
In an ordeal that was captured on camera by horrified witnesses, the terrified girls were left to the mercy of the wind and thrown against the 13th floor of a condominium before crashing in a parking lot.
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Life-changing: Sidney Good poses alongside her friend Alexis Fairchild before the parasailing accident in July 2013, which left both girls with grain damage. Both girls have now reached a settlement in their lawsuit
Terrifying: The girls' parasail snapped off and sent them into a condo before they crashed to the ground
Crash: After smashing into the condo, the girls crashed down on this car. They both suffered brain damage
Good's lawyer Wes Pittman would not reveal the exact settlement amount, but told the station WANE both girls will live comfortably for their rest of their lives.
'The girls are taken care of as well as money can take care of them and they have reasonable futures ahead of them,' said Mr Pittman.
After multiple surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation period, Alexis and Sidney continue to struggle every day with the after-effects of their injuries.
Although Good and Fairchild graduated from high school last year, both read only at a grade-school level, and Sidney also suffers from permanent damage to her vision that cannot be cured.
‘They had some huge assistance in getting the final classes done so that they could graduate from high school,’ her lawyer revealed to the station WJHG.
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Broken: Fairchild (pictured in the hospital) and her friend have undergone several operations to repair some of the damage from the crash
Alexis, a high school graduate, reads at a grade-school level as a result of her brain trauma
Good has since enrolled in cosmetology school, while Fairchild is hoping to get into college in the near future.
While little is known about the conditions of the settlement, Sidney Good's attorney said that five defendants had been named in the lawsuit, including the parasailing ride operator, a business located on the beach, a rope manufacturer, the wholesaler of the rope and the condominium into which the teenagers smashed.
Sidney Good returned to Panama City in July 2014 to thank doctors and nurses at Bay Medical Center who helped save her life and nurse her back to health.
Good's mother, Amy, said during the emotional reunion that doctors hadn't been sure how successful her daughter's recovery would be.
'We didn’t know if she could walk or talk,' Amy Good said. 'They told us she may not remember.'
But both girls, who are no longer as close as they were, impressed their medical staff and families when they walked on stage during the graduation at Huntington North High School June 6, 2014.
Battle: Good, pictured in hospital, suffered spinal injuries and doctors did not know if she would walk again
New chapter: Good (pictured left before crash and right this month) has enrolled in cosmetology school
Fighting back: Good, pictured in May 2014, returned home to Indiana and has fought to regain her abilities
But although they were on their feet, they still suffers from the aftermath of the accident.
'Both girls have brain damage,' Wes Pittman told WJHG last summer. 'One reads at a 5th to 6th grade level even though they have both graduated from high school. The other one reads at a third to fourth grade level.'
Hopeful: Despite her struggles, Alexis is hoping to begin college in the near future
He went on: 'Both have serious orthopedic injuries, spinal surgeries with more coming, titanium plates and screws because of the multiple facial fractures. Her optic nerves were damaged and she sees only right down the center of what you're looking at between my two hands right now.'
Attorneys for the girls claim that the parasailing company was negligent for taking the girls out during dangerous weather and for driving the boat too close to the shore with unsafe equipment.
The girls became detached from the boat when their boat dropped anchor due to unusually high and dangerous winds and their line snapped.
They underwent multiple operations for their injuries, and Alexis was eventually able to leave Bay Medical Center in Panama City, Florida in mid-July while Sidney remained for another week.
Both girls then returned home to Huntington, Indiana, where they have continued to undergo treatment as out patients.
A National Transportation Safety Board report has also criticized the parasailing industry, accusing operators of 'poor judgment, lack of sufficient experience [and] proper training'.
'Passengers seeking to enjoy the thrill, adventure and panoramic views of parasailing risk becoming accident victims,' the NTSB report said. 'Due to the nature of parasailing, accidents usually result in either serious injury or death.'
There are no federal guidelines regulating parasailing and now the NTSB is recommending that all operators be licensed by the US Coast Guard.
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