Their Kid Caught E. Coli. Now, Parents are Suing a MS Waterpark

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Going to a waterpark to cool off during the sweltering summer months is almost a necessity in the south.  Soothing yourself in the waters of the lazy river or zipping down a super-tall water slide is a great way to stave off the unforgiving heat - especially in the sizzling south.

That's exactly the thought process that Louisiana parents Brandon and Ruth Braud were going through when they decided to pack up the family car, grab their daughter, and make a beeline for Pelahatchie, Mississippi's famed Yogi on the Lake.  This park is part of the Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp and Resorts chain of outdoor adventure areas spread across the country.

According to the report from WDAM, the Brauds enjoyed splashing in the waterpark from July 29th through August 2nd of this year.  Everything seemed fine until their unnamed daughter (only identified as "A.B." in court documents) started to become ill.

On August the 2nd, the Brauds claim that their daughter started to run a fever.  That was reportedly followed by "bloody diarrhea." Obviously freaked out, the concerned parents took her to see a doctor, who conducted a test and confirmed that she had contracted E.Coli.  In case you didn't know, E. Coli gets into bodies of water through the solid waste (poop) of mammals.

This news comes on the heels of an official Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) investigation into the outbreak.  Allegedly, more patrons of the park who visited during the same time have also become ill.  According to WLBT, the MSDH has identified the most likely time frame of the contamination to July 30th through August 1st.

The family has now filed a lawsuit against the waterpark, alleging that the facility:

unreasonably failed to exercise care to protect pool patrons, including A.B., from the known danger of E. coli transmission via its pool water...

According to the family's lawyer, another family has now reached out concerning the case as their 2-year old has also contracted the potentially deadly bacteria and is still in the hospital.