An attorney for a Greensburg couple has filed a lawsuit against Laurel Caverns Conservancy Inc., claiming the man was injured during a visit to Laurel Caverns in 2010.
The suit claims Michael J. Pierce was hurt in the caverns while chaperoning his daughter on a Girl Scouts trip. It was filed Jan. 12 in Fayette County by attorney D. Aaron Rhin on behalf of Michael J. and Carrie Pierce.
Pierce visited the site east of Uniontown on Sept. 26 and signed an "Upper Caving Release Form."
The release contained no language referring to "rock climbing" or "rappelling," according to the suit, and Pierce signed it "not expecting to participate in rock climbing, rappelling, or any strenuous activity for that matter."
The form, which is available on the tourist spot's website, notes that it is not possible for "exploring directors" to "watch every movement and every step of every caving participant."
It also notes it is "impossible for the Laurel Caverns staff to know the physical abilities of each participant."
Laurel Caverns is now closed for the season. Messages left there to seek comment on the suit were not returned.
What the suit says
Nine Girl Scouts, a troop leader and chaperones were given "only 10 minutes" of instructions by a tour guide, led through a series of stretches and given "brief instructions" on how to use their harness belts, the suit claims.
Pierce said the troop leader then informed the chaperones that they would be climbing.
At the employee's request, the suit states, a chaperone was asked to handle a rock climbing wall's pulley rope. An employee "briefly demonstrated" how to secure a clip on a child's belt and how to lower someone after reaching the top of the wall.
When the troop leader asked the employee what to do if a child slipped, the employee "assured everyone that there was a self-locking system," and that pulling up the rope's slack would prevent a fall.
According to the suit, the employee told the group that the system would suspend a falling/slipping climber in midair, enabling the person to be manually lowered to the ground.
Pierce ascended the wall, the suit states, with another chaperone handling the rope. That person was not "a professional or an employee of Laurel Caverns, nor did he have experience in rock climbing."
Instead of assisting the chaperone, the suit states, the employee walked to another pulley system to help the children climb again.
Pierce reached the top of the wall and heard someone say that the rope was jammed, so he yelled to the employee for assistance, the suit claims.
After following another chaperone's instructions to climb farther up the wall to relieve some of the rope's tension, Pierce was told that he would be lowered.
Pierce's next memory was of waking up on the ground "in a considerable amount of pain."
He had fallen from the top of the wall, a 10- to 25-foot drop, the suit states.
He suffered injuries to his back, hips, arm, ankle and neck and suffered a concussion and short-term memory loss. He required hospitalization and neurological care, the suit states.
The suit claims Pierce missed five weeks of work and could not maintain several rental properties.
It lists medical expenses exceeding $40,000.
The suit states Laurel Caverns "failed (ed) to provide a safe environment for guests," permitted a "non-employee, untrained individual" to handle the rope, failed to post "conspicuous signs" warning of dangers and risks associated with rock climbing and "failed to supervise (Pierce) while he climbed the wall."
Carrie Pierce sued Laurel Caverns for loss of consortium. The suit seeks a jury trial.
Source: Pittsburgh Live
