Suit Claims Boy's Foot Impaled By Broken Diving Board Supports

A mother and her minor son have filed a personal injury suit against the city of South Charleston, West Virginia over a mishap at the Little Creek Country Club swimming pool in which the son’s foot was impaled.

According to the suit filed in West Virginia’s Kanawha Circuit Court by Patricia Anne Cline on behalf of Christian Hunter McNeely, her minor son, on February 11, the poles holding up a diving board at the pool came loose from the concrete they were anchored in and came back down. The suit says one of the poles impaled Christian’s right foot.

According to the claim, the city was named as the defendant because it owns the country club where the incident occurred.

The suit says the incident took place on July 24, 2007, when the boy was a patron at the swimming pool and used the diving board.

The complaint says that a country club employee spotted a piece of the diving board “breaking away” and went to take a closer inspection. The suit says that the closer look caused him to “become aware” of the diving board’s anchors and fixtures having become loose and that it was no longer properly secured in the concrete surrounding it.

Said employee worked on the diving board before telling patrons that it was then safe for use, according to the suit.

McNeely was later waiting behind the board as another patron used it. As that patron was standing on the board, the board was once again jarred loose from the concrete, causing two supporting pillars to lift out of the ground and come back down, according to the suit. The suit says that when one of the poles came back down, it impaled McNeely’s right foot.

According to the suit, McNeely was caused to suffer severe and permanent injuries and Cline was caused to suffer economic loss from medical expenses and other damages.

The plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages.