Credit: Martin Lewison, FlickrSix Flags Darien Lake is facing a lawsuit from a guest who claims he faced second-degree burns and blisters on his feet following an incident at the Western New York theme park on June 28, 2026.
Lawsuit Against Six Flags Darien Lake
According to The Batavian, Harrison G. Huffman filed a lawsuit with the Genesee County Clerk’s Office against the Darien Center theme park on July 24. Huffman, who is representing himself, named Six Flags Darien LLC, DLFE Management Company LLC (doing business as Six Flags Darien Lake), DLFE Management Company II, LLC, EPR Properties, and “John Does 1-10,” who he identified as employees, managers, ride operators, maintenance technicians, or contractors of Six Flags Darien Lake.
Huffman, originally from South Carolina, is currently living in New York while on active duty as an Army specialist. During a visit to Six Flags Darien Lake on June 28, he decided to ride the Tantrum roller coaster. Before boarding, “defendants’ employees and ride staff” instructed Huffman to remove his Rainbow-brand sandals and place them in a designated storage bin provided by staff.
Many Six Flags theme parks post signs on ride storage bins warning guests that neither the property nor its employees are responsible for lost or stolen items. (It’s unclear if those signs were posted on the exact bin that Huffman used near Tantrum.) However, Huffman wrote in his lawsuit that “By directing Plaintiff to deposit his footwear in the designated bin for the duration of the ride, Defendants assumed temporary custody and control of Plaintiff’s property.”
When Huffman finished his ride on Tantrum, he claimed that employees “negligently, carelessly and without authorization” gave his sandals to someone else. He also claimed that employees refused to provide him with temporary protective footwear or a ride in a golf cart or wheelchair.
“Defendants and their staff knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known that the exposed, dark, asphalt walkways of the Premises reach extreme temperatures under the summer sun in late June, creating a severe physical hazard capable of causing thermal burns to unprotected human skin,” Huffman wrote in the lawsuit. “Instead, Defendants’ employees directed the barefoot Plaintiff to walk across the hot asphalt to a security station and subsequently directed him to walk an additional distance to the front entrance of Guest Relations.”
Huffman claimed he “repeatedly notified staff that he was sustaining painful burns to his feet from the hot asphalt,” but staff “continued to refuse him transport or protective footwear, forcing [him] to walk barefoot once more from Guest Relations to the park’s EMS station.”
Huffman’s Injuries
Huffmain claimed his injuries required “extensive medical wrapping, examination and treatment by on-site EMS and subsequent medical providers.” He cited “intense physical pain, suffering and public humiliation, and aggravated pre-existing vulnerabilities, entitling Plaintiff to recover for the full extent of his injuries, regardless of any predisposition, under New York’s ‘eggshell plaintiff’ doctrine.”
The New York State “eggshell skull” rule holds defendants liable for the full extent of injuries suffered by a plaintiff, even if they were not foreseeable due to a pre-existing condition.
The Six Flags Darien Lake guest claimed he was “temporarily disabled” by the injuries he suffered, rendering him “unable to participate in his normal physical military duties as an Army specialist.” Huffman also said he suffered lost wages from a secondary job and “lost the enjoyment of prepaid travel and concert events.”
What the Lawsuit Alleges
Huffman’s lawsuit alleges “negligence and premises liability” against Six Flags Darien Lake, arguing that the theme park owed “Huffman and the public a duty of care to maintain Darien Lake in a reasonably safe, hazard-free condition and to ensure that all rides, attractions and public areas were constructed, operated, inspected, and maintained safely.”
The man believes Six Flags Darien Lake breached their duty of care by failing to provide safe transport or protective footwear after creating a hazardous condition. He also alleged a “breach of bailment” regarding his Rainbow-branded sandals against all defendants named in the lawsuit, which occurs when a person or business holding someone’s personal property fails to care for it properly, damages it, or fails to return it.
“By directing Plaintiff to surrender his footwear into a storage bin or receptacle owned and controlled by Defendants’ staff as a condition of riding the ‘Tantrum’ attraction, Defendants accepted delivery of, and assumed exclusive custody and control over, Plaintiff’s personal property, thereby creating a bailment for mutual benefit,” the lawsuit reads. “As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ breach of bailment, Plaintiff sustained the loss of his personal property and, further, the loss of that property was the direct and proximate cause of the barefoot exposure that gave rise to Plaintiff’s thermal injuries … in an amount to be determined at trial.”
Six Flags Darien Lake has not issued a statement on this lawsuit.
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