Branson duck boat companies are sued again — this time by a group of survivors
Another lawsuit has been filed against the companies behind the Ride the Ducks operation in Branson, this time by a group of eight survivors from the July 19 disaster who claim they were “forever scarred” by the sinking of a vessel that killed 17 people on board.
Ripley Entertainment, the Florida-based company that bought Ride the Ducks in Branson last year, is named as a defendant alongside Ride the Ducks International, Herschend Family Entertainment and others in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Missouri.
The lawsuit follows similar allegations brought by other plaintiffs stemming from the tragedy, in which a duck boat with 31 people on board went out on Table Rock Lake as a severe storm approached and battered the vessel with three-foot waves and winds exceeding 70 mph before it sunk.
The lawsuit claims Ride the Ducks in Branson knew its boats had safety issues, did not heed earlier recommendations about how to make them safer and was negligent in starting a tour on the water, even though the National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning.
“What happened on Table Rock Lake was no fluke accident, but the result of decades of reckless and atrocious behavior by defendants more interested in making a buck than protecting their passengers,” said Jeffrey Goodman, a Philadelphia attorney representing the survivors, who range in age from 10 to 64.
The plaintiffs are from Arizona, Texas and New Mexico.
Ripley Entertainment and Herschend Family Entertainment have said they cannot comment on pending litigation.
Ripley Entertainment also faces a civil lawsuit from the Missouri attorney general, and the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri is investigating whether any criminal charges are warranted.
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