Woman Sues Eagles Nest Outfitters After Paralyzing Accident
A woman paralyzed in a hammock-related accident in 2017 is seeking damages from the North Carolina-based manufacturer of ENO products
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A young woman injured in a 2017 accident involving an ENO hammock has sued the brand’s parent company, Eagles Nest Outfitters, for unspecified damages to be determined at trial.
Erin Field, 23, was paralyzed from the neck down after a brick chimney—to which an ENO hammock had been attached on the roof of a building in Boston—collapsed on her. Field’s brother, Todd, had hung the hammock on the brick column after seeing images publicized by ENO’s marketing department encouraging customers to “share pictures of hammocks hanging in unusual places, including rooftops,” according to Field’s complaint, filed last week.
“Based on influence from ENO’s marketing campaign, Todd took a picture within a month of moving into his apartment showing his hammock affixed to the brick columns. Todd attached a caption to the photo stating, ‘no trees no problem.’ But for the images in ENO’s marketing campaign, Todd would not have hung his hammock on the rooftop of 45 Charter Street,” the filing reads.
Field was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of her injuries immediately following the accident, where doctors discovered damage to her ribs, lungs, and C-5 and C-6 vertebrae. In the months after the incident, Field’s mother and father moved from their home in Maine to Boston to be near Field while she recovered in Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.
Field has since released a series of videos on her YouTube channel documenting her life after the accident.
According to the complaint, this isn’t the first time hammocks similar to ENO’s have caused accidents resulting in serious bodily harm. The filing lists nine similar incidents, including one that resulted in lifelong injuries and seven that resulted in deaths.
Laura Wallenta, marketing director for ENO, told Outside Business Journal that the company cannot comment while the matter is in litigation, except to say that “the creation of safe products and the safety of our customers has always been a priority of Eagles Nest Outfitters.”