IT exec sues Rackspace, cites leg break in sliding [San Antonio Express-News]

Oct. 18--SAN ANTONIO -- This isn't just any old playground fight.

Cloud-computing company Rackspace Hosting Inc. is being sued over its two-story tube slide, the centerpiece of its whimsical headquarters in the former Windsor Park Mall.

A Tarrant County man claims he fractured his right leg riding the slide in June while on a tour of Rackspace's digs.

Daniel Dunkel, an IT executive who lives in Colleyville, near Fort Worth, seeks as much as $1 million in damages because of his injury.

"Accidents do happen, and it's unfortunate," Rackspace General Counsel Alan Schoenbaum said when asked about the lawsuit.

"The Rackspace slide remains very popular, and hundreds of people enjoy it every day, including Rackers (its employees), customers, friends, family and people running for governor," he added.

Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis, who is vying to be Texas' next governor, executed a flawless campaign stunt earlier this month when she slid down the slide sans her famed hot-pink running shoes -- or, for that matter, any other footwear.

Dunkel didn't want to comment on his marred trip down the slide when reached by phone Thursday.

"I'll let you talk to my lawyer," Dunkel said. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

Dunkel has been a principal of New Era Associates LLC, a sales consultancy and business-development firm. A spokesman in the state comptroller's office said in an email that New Era's corporate charter was forfeited earlier this year for failure to satisfy 2012 franchise-tax requirements.

According to Dunkel's lawsuit, filed in Bexar County District Court on Monday, a Rackspace employee giving Dunkel a tour told him the only way down from the building's upper floor was via the slide.

The tour guide said "that going down the slide was sort of a (rite) of passage," the lawsuit states.

Dunkel was instructed to pick up his feet and legs to go fast, the suit continues.

"On the way down, the dress shoe on his right foot contacted the inside of the slide, causing his right knee to violently come back and hit him in the face and also causing him to severely fracture his lower right leg."

An ambulance transported him to Northeast Baptist Hospital. The suit says Dunkel underwent a surgical repair of his leg later that month in Fort Worth.

Dunkel claims Rackspace knew or should have known that the slide was an "unreasonably dangerous condition."

Schoenbaum emailed the Express-News photographs of a sign next to the slide offering safety tips and a warning about using the slide. He said the sign had been posted at least a year before the mishap.

The sign warns that rubber-soled shoes can stick to the slide surface, which could cause someone to "come to an abrupt stop, possibly resulting in injury."

Since the incident, Schoenbaum said Rackspace has not changed any rules about using the slide.

This is the first time Rackspace has been sued over its slide, which was erected in 2011, Schoenbaum said. Dunkel's claim has been turned over to Rackspace's insurance company, he added.

Also named in the suit are Wiegand Sports LLC, a Utah company that built the slide, and San Antonio'sMetropolitan Contracting Co. LLC, which installed it.

A Wiegand official had not seen the suit and had no comment. A Metropolitan executive couldn't be reached for comment.

Dunkel's suit says he has suffered "physical pain and mental anguish" and in "reasonable probability, (he will) continue to do so in the future."

Dunkel's wife, Susan, joined him in the suit. She is claiming the loss of her husband's companionship.

Together, the couple seeks financial damages between $200,000 and $1 million.

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