Man Sues Caddy Ranch Night Club after being injured riding mechanical bull

[ynkeesfn82]

A man injured while riding the mechanical bull at the Caddy Ranch Night Club in Southington, Connecticut is now suing the club.

http://www.myrecordjournal.com/southington/southingtonnews/6923301-129/man-injured-riding-mechanical-bull-sues-cadillac-ranch-in-southington.html

Editor's Note: I once worked at Caddy Ranch's competitor - Illusions in Wolcott and once told the owners "There is not enough booze in this place to get me on the mechanical bull." - Illusions has since removed the bull to make room for a karaoke lounge. Popularity of the bull had dropped in recent years.

I call Illusions Caddy Ranch's competitor, but the truth is that they flat out ripped off Illusions. Illusions went Country first and in fact helped get radio station Country 92.5 WWYZ established. One place named their bull Lightning, the other named theirs Thunder. Illusions used to use the tag line "A 2-Step Above the Rest" and now Caddy Ranch uses it as their slogan. Caddy claims they're the largest Country Dance Club around, which is false as well. Illusions is bigger.

[TheFugitive]

What's amazing is that mechanical bulls have been around since I was in high-school,
and yet there have not been a whole lot more of these lawsuits.

[scottw73]

Don't they make you sign a waiver before you ride one of those?? If not they should be required to

[ynkeesfn82]

Here's what The Owner of the Caddy Ranch had to say in The Record Journal Newspaper about the mechanical bull lawsuit.

Cadillac Ranch owner disputes lawsuit filed by man injured riding mechanical bull

Published: February 18, 2015 | Last Modified: February 18, 2015 11:20PM
By Andrew Ragali Record-Journal staff

SOUTHINGTON â€" The owner of Cadillac Ranch said he was surprised by a lawsuit recently filed by a man who claims he was injured in a July 2013 fall from a mechanical bull in the venue.

Graham Nicholson has owned the restaurant, at 45 Jude Lane, along with three others since 1997. The bull, known as “Old Thunder,” has been in operation for seven years and is “more of an amusement” rather than a bull ride, Nicholson said Wednesday.

A lawsuit filed last month in Meriden Superior Court by Steven Saleski, of Wallingford, claims the restaurant was negligent in its operation of the bull. After the Record-Journal reported on the lawsuit Monday, the story was picked up by numerous state and national news outlets.

In the suit, Saleski claims he paid to ride the bull at around 10 p.m. on July 6, 2013 when he was thrown from the bull “causing him to violently hit his head on the landing pad.” The suit says Saleski continues to suffer neck pain because of the incident. He is seeking monetary damages to cover medical expenses and loss of earnings. The suit claims the bull was too close to the wall and wasn’t properly supervised.

Nicholson said the suit contains “a whole lot of information that wasn’t true.”

An attorney representing Saleski couldn’t be reached for comment.

At least 20 people ride the bull every Friday and Saturday night, Nicholson said, “and no one has ever complained about it.”

If someone is injured at the venue, an incident report is filed. According to Nicholson, there has never been an incident report filed regarding the mechanical bull.

The venue received notice of Saleski’s intent to file a lawsuit late last year, prompting an investigation into the incident, Nicholson said. But according to his knowledge, an ambulance or medical personnel didn’t respond to the venue the night of July 6, 2013. The injuries that Saleski claims he sustained, including fractured vertebrae, would likely require an ambulance, Nicholson said.

Those who ride the bull must be over 21 and are required to sign a waiver agreeing “that they don’t have any prior injuries or realize if they are injured they can’t sue us,” he said.

Regarding claims that the bull was too close to a wall, there is a large inflatable pad with a four foot high wall preventing people from rolling onto the floor, Nicholson said. While the bull is in relative proximity to the wall, he noted, the lawsuit doesn’t claim Saleski was injured from striking the wall, but the floor. A high pressure blower can inflate the pad in about 30 seconds and keeps the pad constantly inflated at a constant air pressure “preventing anyone from getting hurt,” Nicholson said.

Saleski filed the suit against Meadow Muffins LLC and T.C.B. LLC. Meadow Muffins owns the bull, while T.C.B. owns the venue’s real estate, Nicholson said. Another company, NOBS LLC, operates the venue. Nicholson is a stakeholder in each company.

aragali@record-journal.com (203) 317-2224 Twitter: @Andyragz