Ardent Leisure to pay $2.15 million to family of woman who died on Dreamworld ride

Ardent Leisure has reached a Court settlement the with husband of Cindy Low, one of the four people who died when the Thunder River Rapids ride at Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld malfunctioned in October 2016.

The operator of the theme park has agreed to pay $2.15 million to Low’s husband and two children.

Sydney woman Low, aged 42, died on the Thunder River Rapids ride, along with Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett and Roozi Araghi, as a result of a ride malfunction.

On 14th December, Queensland Supreme Court Justice Susan Brown approved a settlement agreement between Dreamworld’s parent company, Ardent Leisure Limited, and Low’s husband, Matthew Low.

Low had sued Ardent and filed a claim for dependency costs and economic loss in June 2019 on behalf of the couple’s two children, Kieran and Isla, who were aged 10 and six respectively at the time of their mother’s death.

Kieran Low was on the ride when his mother was killed, but suffered only minor injuries.

The terms of the settlement were not revealed in Court but public documents now show that Ardent agreed in September to pay the $2.15 million, plus $280,000 in costs and outlays, to the Low family.

The split of the settlement sum will see Kieran receive $463,361 and Isla $702,195, with the monies to be managed by a discretionary trust until they turn 18.

The children will be able to launch their own personal injury damages suits when they turn 18.

Low’s legal representatives, the Clayton Utz firm, had originally filed a claim for more than $2.46 million due to 'loss of dependence'.  

Some of the settlement costs were based on Cindy Low’s plan to start a full-time role in administration at a large commercial and real estate firm, with an above-average salary plus bonuses.

Her husband stated in an affidavit for the lawsuit that his wife was the primary carer of children and they both planned to keep working until at least age 67.

Low told the Court he had also settled his claim against Ardent for his nervous shock injury “in a confidential settlement” in September.

The Low family decided to split up during their visit to Dreamworld on 25th October 2016 because Kieran wanted to ride the Thunder River Rapids for a second time.

After waiting at a F&B outlet, Low and Isla were tracked down by a Dreamworld staff member.

Low said in his affidavit “I saw Kieran sitting outside the ride’s entrance with staff looking very distressed. I was told ‘the paramedics are with Cindy’.

“Kieran said to me words to the effect that another empty boat on the ride hit them a few times and the boat that he and Cindy were on flipped over. He was very sure Cindy was badly hurt and he was upset he could not save her.”

The Court then heard that the emotional impacts of the tragedy had been “severe” for his family and the grief “never seems to go away”.

Low said Kieran had been “extremely distressed” following the accident, with the statement advising “Kieran was in extreme shock and was not sleeping.

“He had intense night terrors, for a period of six to 12 months, where he relived the incident. He would wake up screaming and run around the house until I could calm him and get him back into bed.”

Under the terms of the settlement, Low, his family members and representatives are prevented from making comments.

Ardent Leisure has reportedly paid a total of more than $5 million in compensation claims as of 2020 to other family members of the victims as well as emergency responders and witnesses.

The company was fined $3.6 million in 2020 after pleading guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court to breaching the Work Health and Safety Act.

The previous month it received part of a $70 million financial assistance package for Gold Coast theme parks (believed to be in the region of $35 million) from the Queensland Government.

With AAP.

Images: Dreamworld (top, credit: Shutterstock) and the theme park's Thunder River Rapids ride prior to the October 2016 tragedy (below).