David Schilling was paralyzed while skydiving at the iFLY facility in Illinois, according to his legal team.
Photo courtesy of Clifford Law Offices
An Illinois man was skydiving in an enclosed wind tunnel when he said he hit his head on a wall.
Crashing into the glass, he suffered a spinal cord injury made him a paralyzing defeat, he said. Now the 63-year-old man “requires constant round-the-clock care.”
David Schilling of Palos Park is suing iFLY and related entities in Cook County Circuit Court. He said that the workers could not protect him.
His attorneys are from Clifford Law Offices filed an amended complaint on Monday, October 10 — a charge of negligence, willful and wanton conduct. The lawsuit also accuses iFLY of fraudulent misrepresentation when it described its operations as “very secure.”
iFLY did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Oct. 11. The company is based in Austin, Texas and has skydiving facilities throughout the US
In a statement provided by Schilling’s attorneys, he said he went to an indoor skydiving facility in Rosemont thinking it would be fun and safe.
But while in the wind tunnel on January 21, 2021, he said he became unstable because the instructor was unable to help him.
“If I had known that the instructor wouldn’t have helped me, I certainly would never have competed and my life would obviously be different today,” Schilling said.
He is paralyzed and cannot move his body from his neck down after a “tragic incident,” according to a statement from Clifford Law Offices.
In the amended complaint, the lawyers accused the Skygroup corporation of lack of work “place” Shilling was next to him – and instead of him there was a “watchman” near the door.
According to the suit, the location either knew or should have known that Schilling was “going out of control” and needed help before he crashed. Schilling did not have an impact-rated helmet and the instructors were not properly trained, the plaintiff’s attorneys allege.
“As a direct and proximate result of one or more acts and/or omissions, (Schilling) suffered permanent and permanent personal and financial injuries,” the lawsuit states.
At the time of Schilling’s incident, the iFLY website said that “indoor skydiving is one of the most thrilling experiences you’ll ever have. It is also a very safe activity,” the lawsuit says. It showed that anyone between the ages of 3 and 103 could fly safely.
But the corporation also had an “iFLY indemnification and indemnification agreement” that called iFLY’s activities “inherently dangerous,” the lawyers said. The liability release states that participants are at risk of serious injury and death.
“iFLY should not market this activity on its own website as very safe and for children aged three and over, and then knowingly maintain legal documents that refer to iFLY indoor skydiving as an inherently dangerous activity,” the statement said. attorney Jack Cashata.
Schilling said he hopes to bring awareness to the dangerous situation.
“The iFLY facilities should be shut down until the company makes it clear to people like parents planning to host a child’s birthday party that iFLY doesn’t actually consider it a safe activity, but an inherently dangerous one,” he said.
He is also seeking a jury trial and more than $50,000 in damages.
Rosemont and Palos Park are in the Chicago metropolitan area.