Judge removes Whatcom County from list of defendants in waterslide lawsuit
The case against Whatcom County for its alleged involvement in an incident at Birch Bay Waterslides that severely injured a visitor was dismissed Monday in Whatcom County Superior Court.
The lawsuit was filed against the owners of Birch Bay Waterslides in May 2024 by park visitor Larry Baker, whose legs went through the side of a slide at the park in August of 2023. The case was amended later that year to include Safe Slide Restoration, Kingworks Consulting Engineers and Whatcom County. Lawyers for Baker said these defendants were “directly involved in the inspection, maintenance, and repairs of the waterslide equipment at the water park,” according to court documents.
The county brought a motion for summary judgment before the court Monday morning. They argued that the case against them should be dismissed for multiple reasons, citing state code that says state and local health jurisdictions are not liable for damages caused by the owner of a water recreation facility failing to comply with rules.
Stefanie Collins, one of the attorneys representing Baker, said the county included more than just Whatcom County Health and Community Services, and therefore was not immune to liability. She also said the county made a “purposeful decision” to ignore the slides in their investigations.
“Whatcom County owed the public a duty of health and safety,” Collins said.
John Nicholson, an attorney for the county, said there was no evidence that Whatcom County knew of Birch Bay Waterslides’ violations of state code, and the law did not mandate the county to take any enforcement action. Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Lee Grochmal agreed.
Grochmal said that while there was some evidence that the county failed to take corrective action when it came to the waterslide park, there was no statutory requirement for them to do so.
Only Whatcom County has been dismissed as a defendant in this lawsuit. The case against the owner of the waterslide park, Safe Slide Restoration and Kingworks Consulting Engineers is ongoing. A jury trial is scheduled for Aug. 26.
This story was originally published January 27, 2026 at 10:18 AM.