Patricia Orner of Mississippi has filed a lawsuit against Muddy Princess Corp., a company that puts on “Muddy Princess Runs” in several locations across the United States. Orner, who says she was temporarily paralyzed after jumping headfirst into an inflatable pool, is seeking unspecified damages from the company.
Orner’s alleged injury occurred during the 2022 Muddy Princess Run, held at the Harrison County Fairgrounds in southern Mississippi. According to the lawsuit filed in Harrison County Circuit Court against Muddy Princess Corp, the event is a “5K running race with obstacles, including crawling through mud, swinging on ropes over mud, and balancing on floats in mud,” reports the SunHerald.
Orner says that one of the obstacles was a four-foot tall inflatable pink pool that participants weren’t notified of in the pre-race literature. According to the lawsuit, she also said there were no signs warning participants against diving in headfirst.
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“[The] plaintiff, unsure on how to best and safely traverse the obstacle, jumped over it head first, and with the aid of another participant, landed on her head into the shallow pool of water, severely injuring her, and resulting in temporary paralysis, as well as further complications to her neck,” said the lawsuit.
Orner claimed that she signed the liability waiver only after paying for the event, and the waiver was for attendees rather than participants. The waivers covered only inherent risks of the event and ordinary negligence, according to the lawsuit. As a result of her paralysis, Orner claims she has had to contend with medical bills, pain, and loss of life enjoyment.
Only about one percent of participants are wounded in these types of events, according to a 2016 Reuters report, and many walk away with only minor scrapes and bruises that are treatable with first-aid. More severe injuries do occur, of course—but research shows they are relatively rare.
Kells McPhillips is a health and wellness journalist living in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in Runner's World, The New York Times, Well+Good, Fortune, Shape, and others.
