ORLANDO, Fla. – The attorney who filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf the family of the man who died on a zip line course says there was a design defect on the attraction and the accident could have been prevented.
Fifty-two year old Robert Belvoir was on the Sky Trails rope course at the Artegon Marketplace Christmas Eve 2014 at the highest point on a zip line when his harness broke loose.
"Nothing. He was free falling at the point," attorney Mark Nation told News 6.
Belvoir fell 30 feet, hitting the cement floor and landing in front of his daughter. Nation filed a wrongful death lawsuit last year and says this accident could have been prevented.
"It's suppose to transition smoothly, but the way it was designed, this was just waiting to happen," Nation said.
Nation says it was a design defect. He tells News 6 there was an opening on the track and Belvoir's harness disconnected from it during the transition from the ropes course to the zip line. He adds Belvoir thought he was still attached to the ride when he stepped off the platform.
"He goes back, it becomes disengaged, and he goes right off the platform with nothing holding him up," Nation said.
Nation adds Belvoir was following the rules while using the course and has testimony from the safety manager on duty that day to back that up.
"Other people have ridden the ride in the past exactly the same way he did," Nation said.
The owner of the Sky Trail attraction tells News 6 he has redesigned the zip line course and his company almost went bankrupt with the costs involved to improve the ride's safety. He told News 6 it "felt like the right thing to do."
Despite last year's accident, mall goers say they would still try the attraction out.
"That probably means it is even going to be safer because they will do whatever they can to make sure nothing like this will happen again," Jeanne Doering said.
"They probably did a lot of work on it and fixed it," Denis Obyedkob said.
But Nation says it is too late for the Belvoir family.
"It's an easy fix, and it should have been done before," Nation said.
The owner of the Sky Trail attraction says the zip line course is closed and he is waiting on a final inspection.
Nation hopes to get a trial date within in the next six to nine months.
The Artegon Marketplace released the following statement:
"We extend our condolences and prayers to the family of Robert Belvoir during this difficult time. The ropes course portion of Sky Trail reopened last December following local and state clearance, and continues to operate without incident. The zip line portion has and will remain closed since last year’s tragic accident. We are unable to further comment because this matter is still in litigation. Please contact Sky Trail for further information."