Three new lawsuits allege Six Flags X2 roller coaster caused severe brain injuries

Three new lawsuits claim that a Six Flags roller coaster left riders with major brain injuries.

The X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, opened in 2002 and billed as the world’s first ‘fourth dimensional’ rollercoaster with seats that rotate 360 degrees.

Attorneys from Dordick Law Corporation say more than 100 people have retained their services in the last two months, alleging they suffered some form of brain injuries from the ride.

“No ride like that should be allowed to exist,” attorney Christopher Bulone said at a press conference Tuesday, held to announce the first three lawsuits.

In her lawsuit, Pamela Guillen says she suffered a “catastrophic brain injury” while riding the roller coaster on July 5 during a visit to the park for her daughter’s birthday.

Guillen collapsed after riding X2 and was rushed to the hospital, where she was found to have suffered an intracranial hemorrhage and a life-threatening traumatic brain injury.

Medical records obtained by CNN revealed that part of her skull needed to be removed to relieve pressure on her brain, after she hit her head on the headrest multiple times.

“You go in as yourself, and then when you come back, you’re a medical emergency,” she told the outlet. “Like I still can’t wrap my head around that.”

The lawsuit claims surgeons and doctors who treated Guillen concluded her injuries were caused by the forces experienced while riding X2.

The document names Magic Mountain, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, Six Flags Theme Parks and rollercoaster designer S&S Worldwide - which purchased the assets of the firm that originally designed the ride.

Each firm is accused of negligent product design and negligent failure to warn, among other causes. The document seeks damages for pain, emotional distress, and disability, as well as the cost of past and future medical care.

Just six days after Guillen was injured, then-25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson and her siblings boarded X2, a second lawsuit filed by her family on Monday states.

Greer-Wilkinson lost consciousness shortly after disembarking and was taken to the hospital, where medics discovered she had also suffered intracranial hemorrhaging and traumatic brain injury.

Now, she is dependent on a ventilator and is in a “minimally conscious state,” unable to speak or move her extremities.

The lawsuit cites the death of 22-year-old graduate Christopher Hawley, who died in hospital after suffering head trauma while riding the rollercoaster in 2022.

Attorneys representing Hawley’s family told KTLA Los Angeles in August that they had reached a settlement with Six Flags Magic Mountain and S&S Worldwide Inc.

Michael Wilk, a Los Angeles-based attorney, told CNN that he was the third person to file a lawsuit with Dordick Law Corporation. He says that was left needing after riding the X2 in February, which had allegedly led to him suffering bleeding in his brain.

“My brain has difficulty processing the words, and so unless it’s extraordinarily clear and loud, my brain gets the word wrong,” he said. “I think I miss about half the conversations I’m in.”

The Independent has contacted Six Flags Magic Mountain and S&S Worldwide Inc for comment on the three lawsuits.