Suit: Trip to Amusement Park Ended With Eye-Eating Parasite

Robert Trostle is suing Kennywood for negligence
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 1, 2017 8:52 AM CST
Suit: Trip to Amusement Park Ended With Eye-Eating Parasite
An aerial shot of Kennywood.   (Getty Images)

Its website proclaims Kennywood "Pittsburgh's best amusement park." Robert Trostle would likely append "for contracting an eye-eating parasite" to the end of that. That's what the Squirrel Hill man is claiming happened to him during a July 2 visit to the Pennsylvania park, per a negligence lawsuit filed Tuesday. It says Trostle and wife Krystsina opted to ride the Raging Rapids water ride, which is supposed to mimic a white-water rafting trip, even after noticing the ride's water was "dirty, stagnant and sludge-like" and its waterfall wasn't running. The ride typically splashes riders at the end, reports TribLive, and in Trostle's case, he said the water hit his left eye—and then the trouble allegedly began. Per the suit, the eye reddened, became sensitive to light, and itchy and painful, reports the Post-Gazette.

He was initially diagnosed with acute conjunctivitis. Antibiotics didn't rectify the situation, and on July 14 he was diagnosed with microsporidia keratitis. The suit says microsporidia is a "harmful parasite that eats away at the cornea of the eye," and alleges it was in the ride's water. It's also still in Trostle's eye, he says: Though he underwent an "extremely painful" surgery that involved scraping the parasite out with a scalpel, he claims the parasite reached a "second level" of his eye where surgery can't reach it, leaving him with vision problems and discomfort. A rep for the park wouldn't comment on the suit directly but says, "Safety is the top priority of everything we do." WTAE reports Trostle is seeking at least $35,000 in damages. (This 18-year-old died after being exposed to an amoeba on a rafting trip.)

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