Brookfield Zoo Makes Repairs After Visitor Contracts Tetanus
(CBS) -- Brookfield Zoo is making safety repairs after the 2 Investigators exposed rusty screws, staples and nails sticking out of railings and broken benches throughout the attraction.
It was all prompted after a 26-year-old woman cut her finger and contracted a deadly disease.
Broken benches and dilapidated railings are now wrapped in yellow caution tape. Zoo staff members are fixing or marking safety hazards that CBS 2 exposed with undercover cameras earlier this week.
Ashley Lionberg ended up on feeding tube and near death after she says she contracted tetanus from a zoo bench which had loose aging wood, rusty bolts and splinters.
Savini found numerous benches in need of repair, and picnic tables with staples -- even railings people run their hands along in disrepair.
Some benches were so bad they were removed. Zoo officials also blocked off a pothole-filled pathway to keep visitors from walking through.
The bench where Lionberg says she cut her finger also is being worked on.
"It's ruined my life right now," Lionberg says.
Lionberg says she got sick even though she was vaccinated.
Her attorney, Shawn Collins, says he plans on filing a lawsuit against the zoo.
Zoo officials would not talk on camera but did say safety is their priority and that they cannot comment on Lionberg's case.
