A former gymnast, paralyzed during a training accident just before the U.S. Goodwill Games more than 10 years ago, has filed a $1.8 million lawsuit against Goodwill Games founder Ted Turner, the former AOL Time Warner Inc., USA Gymnastics and a couple that acted as guardians, as reported by the Washington Post.
Each entity named in the suit either owned the games or supported the event. The suit claims that they didn’t keep promises to S.L., 17 at the time, to take care for her.
The accident, that left S.L. confined to a wheelchair and paralyzed from the chest down, occurred in 1998 in New York.
S.L., of China, now 29, has spent more than a decade with mild celebrity in her own country as “the pride of all Chinese” for her fortitude in the face of her life-altering injury. In 1999, when she left the U.S., she was given a hero’s homecoming in China and has since become an advocate for others with disabilities.
S.L. said of her accident, “At that time, people said that (S.L.) herself lost control and made the mistake that caused her to fall.” But S.L. contends that it was someone on the ground that moved her mat while she was in the air that distracted her from landing properly.
There has been some speculation that the lawsuit will tarnish her image.
S.L. further explained, “I’ve already suffered such a great loss, I just want an explanation and to understand the truth about what happened that year. There is nothing wrong with that.”
The New York couple named in the suit stated that the complaint had no merit while Turner, Time Warner and USA Gymnastics declined to make any comments.
S.L., known in the past as “smiling angel,” “wheelchair angel” or “sunshine girl” now is getting mixed reactions in Chinese media. One headline, from Sportscn.com, read, “(S.L.) turns from angel to devil overnight: Is she really greedy and ungrateful?”
S.L. began training as a gymnast at the age of 5 when she was selected to attend a sport school in Ningbo, her hometown. Later she was chosen for the national team and moved her training to Beijing.
She won a national vault championship in 1997.
But the fall that ended her career occurred one year later. A crash into a mat during a practice vault routine left her with a fracture in her lower neck.
Surgery, followed by 10 months of rehabilitation in New York, only allowed her the return of some strength in her upper extremities.
Once S.L. returned to China, her new life included more physical therapy. She also attended Peking University – studying broadcasting – and worked as a video journalist.
At the same time she began lobbying for the rights of disabled persons.
S.L. now has no feeling in her fingers and her calves have shrunken considerably due to a lack of activity. Of her physical abilities S.L. said, “I’ve been doing my own physical therapy. But my paralysis is from the chest down, so I have no way of exercising my lower limbs and that’s caused my calves to atrophy.”
Her growing unease is advancing with her age. S.L. is concerned about possible future complications like urinary tract infections and kidney problems.
The lawsuit is filed in federal court in Manhattan. It claims that Time Warner, and the gymnastics organization, failed to keep their promises to S.L. in regards to taking care of her medical bills and other needs.
S.L. said, “Losing or winning (the lawsuit), is not important to me, I believe the law will be fair and just.”
If you have been injured, while under the guidance or protection of another party, you may have grounds for a lawsuit. Contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your case.