Safe to jump in sprinkle pool? Man who broke ankle sues Museum of Ice Cream in New York
- The lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York accuses the museum of failing to properly warn visitors that it is dangerous to jump into its sprinkle pool.
- The man alleges in the lawsuit that his jump in the sprinkle pool left him with an injury to his ankle and other parts of his body.
- The lawsuit also references several social media posts showing guests jumping into the pool and injuring themselves.
A man is suing the Museum of Ice Cream after he claimed that he jumped into the facility's sprinkle pool during a 2023 visit to its New York City location and broke his ankle.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in the New York Supreme Court accuses the museum of failing to adequately warn visitors that it is dangerous to jump into its sprinkle pool – an installation resembling a ball-pit, but with giant plastic sprinkles.
In fact, the Museum of Ice Cream "actively" encourages visitors to jump into the sprinkle pool "through its advertising, marketing and promotional materials," the lawsuit contends, "creating the reasonable – but false – expectation that the sprinkle pool is fit and safe for that activity."
According to the lawsuit, that's just what plaintiff Jeremy Shorr did in March 2023 when he took his daughter to the museum, which features interactive rooms and exhibits about ice cream.
A museum spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit when reached Friday morning by USA TODAY.
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Lawsuit cites social media posts showing dangers of sprinkle pool
The home page of the museum's website encourages visitors to “Dive into fun with our iconic sprinkle pool" and shows photos of children and adults alike playing in the feature.
Other marketing materials and social media posts further contribute to "misleading the public" into believing that it is safe to jump or plunge into the sprinkle pool, according to the lawsuit.
A 2019 social media post from the museum screenshotted and cited in the lawsuit shows an image of the sprinkle pool with a caption asking visitors if they’re ready to “jump in.”
The lawsuit, which claims the museum is well aware of the harm the sprinkle pool can cause guests, references a Daily Mail article from 2021 with the headline “Well, that bombed! Woman falls flat on her face when she cannonballs into a pool of giant sprinkles.”
The lawsuit also references several social media posts showing guests jumping into the pool and injuring themselves.
One video posted on TikTok in August 2023 shows a guest apparently spraining her leg while jumping into the installation. The video states the person “ended up in crutches.”
Another posted by ESPN in October shows a guest plunging into the pool off the diving boards and includes the caption, “That didn’t go as planned.”
Plaintiff claims injuries required surgery, PT
Shorr alleges in the lawsuit that his own plunge left him with “severe and permanent personal injuries to his right leg, ankle, and other body parts," including a broken ankle that required surgery.
In the meantime, Shorr is "unable to engage in activities of daily living as previously" as he continues to take pain medication and take part in physical therapy.
The lawsuit further alleges that the Museum of Ice Cream – which has six total locations around the world – failed to make the pool deep enough or fill it with the proper amount of sprinkles to make it safe.
The museum’s FAQ page on its website briefly address the sprinkle pool, but makes no mention of whether it's safe to jump into it. Rather, the section explains how the pool is regularly cleaned with "antibacterial sprinkle shower, ensuring a fresh and clean experience with every jump."
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]