The family of a woman who died two days after bumping her head on monkey bars while working out at a fitness circuit in Surrey is suing the city, alleging the outdoor facility wasn’t maintained properly, which led to her death, according to the lawsuit.
Jiong Qing Deng died in June 2023 after exercising at Crescent Park in South Surrey, according to two almost identical lawsuits — one by her husband and one by her daughter — filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.
“As she was using the monkey bars, she slipped, fell and struck her head on a rung,” and she died two days later in hospital, according to the lawsuits.
“The incident caused injury, loss and expense to the plaintiff,” the lawsuits said, one filed by the woman’s husband, Ben Lin Zeng, the other by her daughter, Leanne April Zeng.
The suits say the exercise circuits and in particular the monkey bars and their surroundings were in a “state of disrepair, including paint peeling from the monkey bars, overgrowth of trees and shrubs around the monkey bars and uneven ground under and around the monkey bars.”
They also said the city had a legal duty to maintain the premises in a “reasonably safe condition for use by members of the public, such as Mrs. Deng.”
“The incident was caused or contributed to by the negligence and breach” of the city’s legal duty to maintain the equipment, including failing to inspect it for hazards, provide adequate lighting, warn users of hazards and remedy hazards they knew existed and would result in someone falling and injuring themselves, the lawsuits alleged.
“As a result of the negligence of the defendant, the plaintiff (Ben Zeng) and Leanne April Zeng have been deprived of the support, care and companionship and love they would have enjoyed as the husband and daughter.”
They are seeking unspecified damages for loss of financial support, household services, and care and guidance. They separately claimed for damages for anxiety, nervous shock, lack of concentration, headaches, dizziness and insomnia.
The injuries have caused and continue to cause Leanne pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of housekeeping capacity, permanent physical disability, loss of physical, mental and emotional health and loss of past and future earnings, said her lawsuit. Leanne lives in China.
Messages left with the plaintiffs’ lawyer weren’t returned. A city spokeswoman said in an email the city won’t comment on an active lawsuit.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.