A Skagit County man who sued after being seriously hurt three years ago at Birch Bay Waterslides has agreed to a $4 million settlement, according to the law firm representing him.
Meanwhile, a sale is pending on the property, according to a real estate agent.
Larry Baker, then 43, spent nearly two weeks in the intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after his legs went through a slide panel while going down Hairpin — one of the park’s four main slides — in August 2023, according to a previous investigation by The Northern Light.
He sustained deep cuts to both legs.
Baker filed a negligence lawsuit in May 2024 in Whatcom County Superior Court. Named in the lawsuit were the water park, referred to as Birch Bay Jun Yu Waterslides, Safe Slide Restoration and Kingworks Consulting Engineers. All three contributed to the settlement, according to Baker’s attorney Michael Driggs of The Advocates law firm.
“Larry and his family are very happy to have the case resolved. This settlement will help provide for Larry’s future needs and allow the family to move forward,” Driggs said in a statement emailed to The Northern Light after a request for a comment.
He said Baker didn’t want to be interviewed.
Birch Bay Jun Yu Waterslides and park owner Qiyan (Max) Li, Safe Slide Restoration and Kingworks Consulting Engineers couldn’t be reached for comment.
In May, the park announced it wouldn’t reopen this summer but didn’t explain why. Soon after, on May 11, John L. Scott Bellingham Real Estate listed the 41-year-old water park and the land it’s on for sale, for $6 million.
Birch Bay Waterslides, which opened in 1985, is at 4874 Birch Bay-Lynden Road.
One-third of the 14.5-acre property houses the water park while the remaining two-thirds is vacant land, according to the listing.
Real estate agent Patrick Starr, who’s with John L. Scott, said the sale of the property has been pending for a month, and that the would-be buyers, who are from Whatcom County, are in the feasibility stage.
“They’re being really thorough with the whole thing,” Starr said, adding that the prospective purchasers want to do something good for the long term.
“They want to help grow Birch Bay. It’s kind of a gateway property. When you come into Birch Bay, it’s kind of the first thing you see,” Starr said.
The land, which is in unincorporated Whatcom County, is zoned general commercial, which would allow for multifamily, mixed-use residential and a variety of commercial uses.
Starr said a couple of months remain for the feasibility phase.
