Lawsuit filed over egg hunt

A mother who says she injured her knee when she was pushed to the ground by over-eager Easter egg hunters a year ago has filed a $112,000 lawsuit against the events company that organized the hunt.

Rachel Townsend of Hillsboro, Ore., faults the organizers of The Hatter’s Easter Extravaganza in Clackamas for allegedly failing to control the unruly crowd, which was intent on scooping up their share of the 15,000 eggs that were advertised to be hidden that day, according to her lawsuit filed last week.

Townsend was at the event with her son and her niece, who were both 4 or younger and had paid the $5 fee to participate in the hunt designated for just small children, the suit states. Other hunts later in that same afternoon were designated for older children, according to the suit.

When the hunt for the youngest children started, crowds of unregistered participants began to run from the starting area toward the eggs — and that’s when Townsend became separated from her niece, stopped to try to find her and was shoved down, according to the suit.

Townsend suffered a torn meniscus and partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, then underwent surgery, her suit states. Her medical bills have reached $9,400, and she’s lost $3,000 from time off of work, according to her suit.

The event’s organizer, Red Shoe Productions, declined to comment Monday. So did the event venue, The Aerie at Eagle Landing, which also is listed as a defendant.

Townsend’s lawsuit accuses the defendants of failing to “remove or restrain” participants who intended to rush the search area, failing to provide enough staff to conduct a safe hunt and confining the participants into a crowded start area.

This year’s event, scheduled next month, is supposed to be even bigger than last year’s — with more than 20,000 eggs, the Easter Bunny arriving by helicopter and parking in a remote lot with participants brought in by shuttle bus.