Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Stewartville Man’s Death in Parade

La Crescent, MN (KROC-AM News) - A deadly incident at a parade in La Crescent last summer has resulted in a wrongful death lawsuit against the Minnesota-based Osman Shriners and Shriners International based in Iowa.

According to documents filed in Hennepin County Court, the lawsuit was filed by the widow of Ryan Colligan. The 45-year-old Stewartville man suffered fatal injuries on August 10 last year while operating what the lawsuit describes as a "stunt cart" as a longtime member of the Shriners organization.

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The lawsuit accuses the Shriners organizations of failing in their duty to use reasonable care to avoid causing personal injury by failing to provide members of the club with the option of wearing helmets or other protective equipment and failing to provide the Shriners members with safe and suitable vehicles. One of the claims states that the Shriners knew or should have known about the unreasonably dangerous conditions created by requiring large men "to ride a dangerously top-heavy stunt cart for the first time without a helmet."

According to the court document, Colligan, who was 6' 3" inches tall and weighed approximately 260 pounds, was attempting to familiarize himself with the stunt cart prior to the start of the parade and was traveling at about 15 mph when he attempted to apply the brakes. The lawsuit states that applying the brakes caused the stunt cart to skid and flip, which resulted in Colligan suffering a head injury that led to his death a few hours later at a hospital in La Crosse.

Colligan's obituary, published by Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home, says he grew up in Rochester, graduated from Mayo high school, and was employed by Mayo Clinic.

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