Beach umbrella ‘severely injures’ woman walking on beach in Myrtle Beach, lawsuit says
An Indiana woman is suing a Myrtle Beach area company and an umbrella manufacturer after a rogue beach umbrella hit and injured her while she was walking on the beach.
Rhonda Williams was at the beach on May 10, 2022, when an unanchored beach umbrella became dislodged and hit her, the lawsuit stated. It’s unclear how Williams was hurt, but the suit said she was “severely injured.”
Williams is now suing East Coast Umbrella and John’s Beach Service, which is one of the companies that provides umbrella rental services to Myrtle Beach. Neither company responded to a request to comment before publication.
The lawsuit was filed on Feb. 10.
This is not the first lawsuit East Coast Umbrella has faced. The company was hit with a lawsuit after one of their umbrellas impaled and killed 63-year-old Tammy Perreault, The Sun News previously reported.
Williams is suing East Coast Umbrella for strict liability, negligence and breach of implied warranty. She alleges East Coast Umbrella knowingly designed and sold a defective beach umbrella.
“Defendant East Coast Umbrella knew that the umbrellas such as the one it manufactured, designed, and sold had become unanchored and had struck persons causing significant injuries and damages prior to the incident that is the subject of this Complaint,” the lawsuit stated.
Williams is suing John’s Beach Service for negligence, arguing the company improperly anchored the umbrella and did not warn beach-goers about the potential dangers of an umbrella coming loose.
She is also suing both companies for violating the South Carolina Fair Trade Practices Act by acting deceptively. The lawsuit said that John’s Beach Service depicted itself as safe while knowing umbrellas had come free and hit people before, and East Coast Umbrella advertised itself as selling “high-quality umbrellas” despite knowing the safety issues.
The accident caused Williams to suffer “extreme and painful injuries,” pay numerous doctor bills and disrupted her everyday life.
Williams is requesting actual, special, consequential and punitive damages as well as court costs be covered.
This story was originally published February 11, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
