Originally published September 26 2005
Lawsuit filed on behalf of 4,000 who developed stomach illnesses from NY water park
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The New York Office of State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has been named the defendant in a class-action law suit filed by a Rochester couple who developed a gastrointestinal disease called cryptosporidium after visiting state-run Sprayground near Geneva, and Newsday.com reports that around 4,000 people are expected to be named plaintiffs in the case.
The Springers were named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the Office of State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, but "thousands of other people suffered the same fate because the (agency) failed to ensure the water ...
A class-action lawsuit is "the most effective way of handling this many ill people," said Marler, who specializes in litigation involving food and waterborne illnesses.
His Seattle-based firm has already been contacted by more than 100 people, he said.
The state agency, which maintains 172 parks, 35 historic sites and thousands of campgrounds, beaches, golf courses, trails and other recreation areas, doesn't comment on pending litigation, said spokeswoman Wendy Gibson.
Of some 4,000 people who reported becoming ill this summer after visiting the Sprayground, which has water jets shooting up from a hardtop surface, 41 were hospitalized, the state Health Department said.
The Seneca Lake Park attraction was shut down in mid-August after officials received more than 20 reports of illness.
Once the outbreak was made public, the number of cases rapidly escalated.
Tests found a common waterborne disease known as cryptosporidium in two storage tanks.
The highly contagious disease can cause diarrhea, nausea and fever that can last for weeks.
It usually goes away without treatment in healthy individuals.
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