An Oregon mom has filed a $2.2 million lawsuit against the Red Berry Barn in Sherwood, claiming she tripped on a muddy slope during the pumpkin patch’s annual harvest celebration and suffered several fractures in her leg and ankle.
Paige Jean Smith’s lawsuit claims she escorted her child to an elevated launch platform for a zipline on October 20, 2024. According to the claim, Smith was “instructed” or “permitted” to go down a “dangerously steep, muddy, slippery” and “unsafe” slope after her child jumped from the platform and began sliding down the zipline.
She fell and broke her tibia, fibula, and ankle in many places, necessitating surgery, according to the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, Smith also endured chronic ankle pain, arthritis, and soft tissue injuries in her shoulders, neck, and back.
Messages sent this week and last for Red Berry Barn and its owners, Aaron and Erika Wilcott, were not returned. According to their website, Erika Wilcott is a sixth-generation farmer, and they raise their three school-aged children on the farm.
“They work together to make Red Berry Barn a place the whole family can enjoy,” according to their website.
The photos in the lawsuit show two staircases coming up to the edge of the wooden launch platform. A big, sloping pile of soil borders the other side of the platform, where Smith claims she fell.
The lawsuit did not go into detail concerning Smith’s life. However, it claims she has incurred $155,000 in medical bills and anticipates another $50,000 in future expenses. The lawsuit also demands $2 million for Smith’s agony and suffering.
Red Berry Barn is located at 19200 SW Chapman Road, less than a mile southwest of Sherwood City Limits. Its annual harvest festival will take place from mid-September to Halloween and will feature a zip line, a “giant bounce pumpkin,” a climbing rope tower, and other attractions. Tickets range from $15 to $25 per person, and Smith’s lawsuit claims she paid admission to enter the day she was injured.
Several additional pumpkin patches in the Portland region have been sued in recent years, as the agritourism industry has expanded.
In 2012, a woman who claimed she stumbled on some string and “did a belly flop” onto the ground, fracturing her elbow, sued The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island for $432,000. The case was dismissed the next year, with the terms of any settlement not disclosed.
In 2014, a father riding the Cow Train sued The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island for $154,000, claiming he broke his wrist while the operator drove in tight loops and threw him to the ground. The train is a collection of barrels painted with black and white spots and driven by a tractor.
The lawsuit was settled the next year.
In 2024, a pair of grandparents sued Hoffman Farms, located southwest of Beaverton, for $1.3 million after claiming that a miniature train that provides a tour of the property derailed. The case was resolved and dismissed on secret terms.
Smith filed her case against Red Berry Barn on August 20 in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
Leave a Reply