Woman Who Lost Family Files $300M Branson Duck Boat Lawsuit

KANSAS CITY, MO — The Indianapolis woman who lost nine relatives, including her three children and husband, in the July 19 Branson, Missouri Duck Boat tragedy filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against six companies in the duck boat industry. Seventeen people died in July when the Ripley Entertainment boat sank on Table Rock Lake in Branson, including Tia Coleman's husband, children and five other relatives.

According to court documents, Coleman is requesting $300 million in financial damages, in addition to the end of Duck Boat manufacturing and operation until all design errors are corrected, and the boats are redesigned for safety.

Ripley Entertainment Inc., Ride the Ducks International, Ride the Ducks of Branson, the Herschend Family Entertainment Corp. and Amphibious Vehicle Manufacturing are named in Coleman's lawsuit.

This most recent lawsuit follows one that was filed July 29 in U.S. District Court in Kansas City that's seeking $100 million in damages on behalf of two of the nine members of the Coleman family who died in the accident. A second lawsuit was also filed on behalf of the estates of Angela Coleman, 45, and Belinda Coleman, 69.

RELATED:

• 17 Dead Near Branson As Missouri Duck Boat Capsizes
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• Family That Lost 9 In Duck Boat Tragedy Files 2nd Lawsuit
• Before Branson Tragedy, Duck Boats Had History Of Fatal Accidents

According to court documents filed Tuesday, Ripley Entertainment hired an inspector in August 2017 to check the boats before purchasing the Branson duck boat operations. The inspector found the design of the boats, originally built in 1944, put them at risk of sinking, court documents reported. Documents claim that according to the inspector, water could get into the exhaust system and motor in the event of rough water conditions.

However, the lawsuit alleges that despite being made aware of the issues, Ripley decided to take the duck boat out on the lake July 19 instead of cancelling the tour and refunding patrons. Court documents add that "prior to this catastrophe, the Duck Boat industry knew that their Duck Boats were entirely unfit to be used for any purpose and had previously been responsible for dozens of deaths."

Duck boats have been involved in a series of tragic accidents across the country since at least 1999, when a similar incident killed 13 people on Arkansas' Lake Hamilton. Other accidents took place in 2002, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016 and most recently the Branson tragedy in July 2018. After the latest incident, the attorney who represented the families of two Hungarian students who died in 2010 when a duck boat was hit by a barge in the Delaware River near Philadelphia reissued his call to ban duck boats.

The Indiana family's suits allege that the companies ignored warnings from the National Transportation Safety Board in 2000 that the vehicles, which are designed to operate on land and water, should be upgraded to ensure they remain upright and floating in bad weather. The federal agency's recommendation was issued after an Arkansas duck boat sank in 1999.

(Photo via court documents, U.S. Courts W. District of MO., S. Division)