Senior Managing Partner
On the eve of a court hearing to declare the pedestrian appurtenances of Gas Works Park a public nuisance, the City finally takes action to tear them down. Supposedly.
Since the City decided to turn this hazardous waste site into a park in 1975, the cracking towers have been a place of injury and death for children and young people. The City did not keep a comprehensive list. We have pulled the following list from City records since 2008:
- 2008 A.R. (22) shoulder injury.
- 2009 K.M. (25 life threatening injuries.
- 2012 not identified injured.
- 2012 L.V.K (19) death.
- 2013 Z.D.W (19) life threatening injuries to head and liver.
- 2014 N.P. (19) severe trauma.
- 2014 N.E. (17) multiple broken bones.
- 2015 G.S.S. (21) life threatening head and internal injuries.
- 2015 not identified (20) injured
- 2015 M.E.C. (19) injured and transported to Harborview
- 2016 C.R. (19) injured wrists, ribs, pelvis
- 2016 I.C.A (23) open femur fracture, possible pelvic fractur
- 2017 not identified injured
- 2017 not identified (18) injured and transported to Harborview
- 2018 not identified (16) injured
- 2019 L.J.B. (40) significant injuries
- 2021 J.K. (19) injuries to back, shoulder, hip, leg
- 2021 not identified (45) compound factures of hands and feet
- 2022 T.E.K (26) broken leg, head laceration
- 2022 S.L.(37) dislocated elbows
- 2022 Z.J. (20) death.
- 2023 J.M.T.N. (16) brain damage – 4 months of hospitalization. Parents were told by Harborview that they receive patients injured from falls at GWP monthly.
- 2024 M.M. (19) injured and transported to Harborview
- 2024 H.R. (16) injuries to wrist, hip, leg, face.
- 2025 Mattheis Johnson (15) death.
The City has taken the tactic of dehumanizing the children and young people who climbed the nuisance. It has labelled them as trespassers. And allowed a narrative that “it is the parents’ fault” that these bad kids disobey signs.
Well, no more. The Johnson family allowed Stritmatter Law to bring a pro bono suit in the name of Mattheis and on behalf of all of the other people and families whose lives were wrecked by an edifice created out of a glorified toxic waste dump site. The motion for summary judgment to declare GWP a public nuisance and for abatement was filed yesterday on April 21. And now, supposedly, the City has decided it better do something about it.
The motion cites a report from Guidance Engineering and Applied Research (“GEAR”), which Seattle retained to evaluate the structures. GEAR identified multiple climbable features (identified in the above photo) and concluded that signs, lighting, and fencing were not effective deterrents.
The Stritmatter Law team is Karen Koehler, Mo Hamoudi and Jonjon Rankin. With paralegals Kristin Michaud and Jamie Kessler.
You can read the motion for summary judgment here.