Haunted House Fogs Wrongful Death Suit

Britney Holmes, a 15 year-old Belleville teen, allegedly died after being exposed to both artificial fog and scents at a Haunted House attraction in St. Louis, as reported by the News Democrat in Southwestern Illinois.

Holmes and her mother, Vanessa Neal, visited The Darkness for Halloween in 2009.  On their way home Neal noticed that Britney was having difficulty breathing.  When Britney's inhaler didn't work, and they drove to the hospital, her brain had been without oxygen for over seven full minutes.

The teen - in a vegetative state - died approximately a year after the exposure, on November 14.

Durand Tyler, Britney's father and living in Anchorage, Alaska, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Halloween Productions Inc., in St. Louis Circuit Court. 

Halloween Productions, Inc., operates the attraction in the Soulard neighborhood that the mother and daughter attended.

Neal had filed a personal injury lawsuit, unbeknownst to Tyler; the two parents may now consolidate both suits. 

The president of Halloween Productions, Larry Kirchner, refused to comment as the legal dispute in ongoing.  He would only contend that the allegations made by the family are false and referred any other information to be garnered from information made public on the company's website.

On the scarefest.com website it is stated that warning signs were posted at the Haunted House that advised anyone pregnant, claustrophobic, prone to seizures, having heart or respiratory problems not to enter.

Also on the scarefest site is mention of Britney Holmes.  The website made remarks that the teen had neither an asthma attack at the attraction nor did the attraction cause her to have an asthma attack afterwards.

Tyler said that he thought that chemicals in the artificial fog, smoke or scents in the haunted house might have been the culprit. He said, "If there is or was something in the haunted house causing the problem, I don't want any other kids or grownups going in there and getting hurt."

In the wrongful death suit, it is alleged that Halloween Productions failed to provide a safe environment for customers suffering from respiratory ailments.  It is also alleged that they failed to inadequately, and timely, monitor the chemicals they were putting into the house.

Paying Britney's medical bills - well over $1 million - is a concern of her fathers.  He said, "I just want to make sure the bills get paid, if the court finds they're liable for it."

In Tyler's recollections of his daughter, suffering from asthma since the age of four, he said, "Britney was a free spirit. She was into making little movies and playing jokes on people. She was a strong-willed person.  I didn't get to see everything because of the distance, but what I did see, it was beautiful.  There are times I just cry because I couldn't be with her all the time because of our situation, and now she's gone."

If you have lost a loved one in a wrongful death, click here to contact a personal injury lawyer from our directory for help to plan your case today!