A Bergen County man has filed a lawsuit against American Dream in East Rutherford, claiming he broke his leg when he landed in a shallow wading pool at the bottom of a waterslide at DreamWorks Water Park in the mall complex.

Xavier Velez, 30, of Elmwood Park, says he slid down the Zany & Zanier Zigzag slide on July 2, 2021, but the pool at the end of the slide was not filled properly, which caused him a broken leg, according to the lawsuit filed June 22 in Bergen County Superior Court.

“The receptacle pool was improperly filled and/or designed/manufactured in such a way that it struck the bottom of the product, severely fracturing his leg, requiring surgery and resulting in permanent injury,” the lawsuit alleges.

In addition to American Dream, attorneys for Velez sued the mall owners, the waterslide manufacturer, and unnamed workers who the lawsuit said were responsible for maintaining water park equipment.

A spokeswoman for American Dream said Thursday that the company does not comment on ongoing litigation.

The lawsuit alleges workers negligently operated the slide’s rushing water, which they knew or should have known put people at risk of injury when they hit the supposedly shallow wading pool.

The negligence lawsuit was filed four months after four people were injured in a separate incident when a large decorative helicopter fell from the rafters and landed in a swimming pool at the water park.

The water park was closed for several days after the incident because the state Department of Community Affairs, which oversees amusement parks, issued an order to cease operations. The park reopened on February 25, six days after the incident.

A spokeswoman for the mall at the time said state, county and independent engineering consultants cooperated in a “rigorous investigation” and determined that the water park “meets all regulations and requirements of security”.

Anthony G. Attrino can be attached to tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.