A woman hit by a roller coaster in a horrific incident in Melbourne has taken a positive step on her long road to recovery.
On Tuesday, a Royal Melbourne Hospital spokeswoman confirmed Shylah Rodden’s condition was now listed as serious rather than critical.
It comes after revelations that a man caught up in a civil lawsuit with the roller coaster victim is known to her.
Ms Rodden’s family launched proceedings in the County Court of Victoria on Friday for injuries sustained by the 26-year-old following a road accident in January 2018.
Shylah Rodden (left) and Anthony Bright in 2015. Mr. Bright has been listed as a defendant in civil suits.
Anthony Bright is being sued by Shylah Rodden, who remains in hospital after a shocking roller coaster incident
Shylah Rodden’s condition is now listed as serious rather than critical
Daily Mail Australia can reveal Lalor man Anthony Bright has been named as a defendant in the civil action.
Ms Rodden’s family filed a writ to protect her rights against the incident in 2018, seeking compensation for injuries she suffered in a transport accident as a result of ‘the negligence of Mr Bright, on 29 January that year’.
Mr. Bright is pictured on social media with Ms Rodden in 2015, with the pair looking comfortable together.
The photo was liked by another member of Ms Rodden’s family, with a look at Mr Bright’s friends list indicating he was dating her brother Jason, who died just two months before the slide incident.
Daily Mail Australia has attempted to contact Mr Bright but has not received a response.
Ms Rodden’s father, Alan Rodden, also declined to comment on the ongoing trial.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mr Bright has done anything wrong, only that he is listed as a defendant in the civil suit.
Shylah Rodden is fighting for her life after being thrown nine meters into the air when she was hit by a slide at the Royal Melbourne Show on Sunday.
Anthony Bright was known to Shylah Rodden when she accused him of negligently causing her injury
On Friday, Arnold Thomas and Becker practice manager Aki Munir said Mrs Rodden suffered serious injuries due to ‘negligence on the part of the defendant’.
“It (the action) involves a transport accident and she sustained some significant injuries in that accident,” Ms Munir said. Herald Sun.
“The purpose of filing the writ is to preserve her rights should something happen to her.”
Ms Munir also said Ms Rodden’s family may take action against the Melbourne Royal Show and the operators of the Rebel Coaster ride for negligence.
On the day she was hit by the slide, Mrs Rodden had been working in a friend’s stall at the exhibition.
They had been on a break when the couple decided to go on a few trips to pass the time.
It is understood she dropped her phone while on the roller coaster and police believe Ms Rodden walked onto the tracks of the high-speed ride to retrieve the device.
Her father told Daily Mail Australia at the time his daughter had suffered life-changing injuries.
‘I can’t talk to my daughter. She’s going to be in a coma for a while,” he said.
– The damage is terrible. Terrible. She is brain damaged. It’s the pelvis, her arms, legs, back, neck – there’s hardly a thing that isn’t broken. I just can’t figure out how the hell so much damage was done.
“Even the doctors have said they haven’t seen anything this bad in a long time.”
Terrifying footage shows Shylah Rodden (pictured in black) moments from being hit by the Rebel Coaster at the Melbourne Royal show on Sunday
Ms Rodden was involved in three other accidents, including a serious car crash in February 2019, and another where she overturned her car after hitting a lorry in January 2021
Police revealed last week that the roller coaster was traveling at 70 km/h when she was hit.
Ms Rodden had to learn to walk again after she was involved in a horror crash in January 2021 when she overturned a car on Melbourne’s Western Ring Road after plowing into a lorry and a car.
She was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car onto the road.
The young woman survived the crash but needed significant rehabilitation to get back on her feet and, supported by her supportive parents, managed to walk again.
Her grueling road to recovery came after another serious car accident in 2019.
A Melbourne Royal Show spokeswoman claimed “the safety and well-being of our visitors to the show remains our number one priority”.
Safety watchdog WorkSafe is in the process of determining whether this statement is true.
The slide that hit her reopened a few days after the sickening incident.
Show management declined to comment on whether new safety procedures had been adopted in its wake.
Rodden (pictured) has been involved in three separate traffic accidents, in 2018, 2019 and 202
A spokeswoman for the Melbourne Royal Show claimed “the safety and well-being of our visitors to the show remains our number one priority” (pictured, Royal Melbourne Show)
