Brady Doherty died from injuries that occurred while attending a friend's birthday party at the My Gym Children's Fitness Center of Wheaton on Sept. 30. The second grader sustained those injuries while playing on zipline equipment at the gym. An assigned spotter failed to follow Brady as he rode the zipline, the lawsuit alleges.
Brady, who was not given a harness or helmet by the gym, was vaulted into an unpadded pole, fell to the floor and hit his head on the cement floor. He died Oct. 2 of massive skull and brain injuries.
The lawsuit alleges that My Gym failed to properly supervise Brady as he used the zipline and failed to properly install and provide safety devices that would have prevented his injuries and subsequent death.
"The Doherty family is worried about similar unsafe zipline attractions throughout the country and hope this case prompts My Gym to remove its zipline from all locations," said Michael Demetrio, who represents Brady's estate.
Matt Hendison, Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for My Gym Enterprises, flew in from corporate headquarters in Los Angeles to be present when the gym reopened in October after the boy's death.
"Nothing like this has ever happened and it's hard to even talk about because it doesn't even seem real. We are taking this very seriously," he said.