⚖️ Eatontown Family Sues Monmouth County Over Teen’s Serious Injury at Huber Woods Park
An Eatontown family is suing Monmouth County after a teenager suffered a serious heart injury when construction equipment fell on him at Huber Woods Park. The county is now seeking to include the boy's friend as a defendant in the lawsuit.
MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The family of an Eatontown teenager who suffered a serious heart injury after construction equipment reportedly fell on him at Huber Woods Park is suing Monmouth County and several other entities.
The incident occurred on October 10, 2022, when the 15-year-old boy, his brother and two friends were walking through the park with one of the teens’ parents.
According to the lawsuit, the group encountered detachable forklift forks that had been left near a gravel road in the Woods Farm section of the park. The teenager and one of his friends began playing on the equipment.
The lawsuit alleges the teen was hanging from a bar connecting the forklift forks when the structure suddenly fell, landing on his stomach.
The teen immediately experienced severe chest pain. He was taken to an emergency room, where doctors determined that the accident had caused a tear to his aorta, resulting in internal bleeding and requiring emergency heart surgery.
⚖️ Lawsuit Filed Against Multiple Entities
The family’s lawsuit was filed in September 2024 and names numerous defendants, including Monmouth County, the Monmouth County Park System, Huber Woods Park, the State of New Jersey and several municipal and state agencies.
Middletown Township and its various departments were also named in the lawsuit. However, according to Mayor Tony Perry, Middletown successfully sought to be dismissed from the case because the township does not own, operate or maintain Huber Woods Park.
The Monmouth County Park System owns, operates and maintains the park.
The case remains unresolved. A settlement conference scheduled for August did not take place, according to the family’s attorney.
🏗️ County Seeks to Add Teen’s Friend as Third Party
The legal battle has also expanded to include the teenager’s friend who was present when the equipment fell.
Attorneys representing Monmouth County recently filed a motion seeking to bring the friend into the case as a third-party defendant. County attorneys argue that the friend may share some responsibility for the accident.
According to testimony cited in the filing, the friend was helping “spot” the injured teenager as he attempted an exercise on the forklift structure. The teenager testified that his friend grabbed his legs shortly before the structure fell.
A Monmouth County Superior Court judge has not yet ruled on whether the county will be permitted to add the friend to the lawsuit.
📅 The next scheduled court date is August 28.
The lawsuit remains pending, and the allegations contained in court filings have not been proven in court.
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