Just about any form of human endeavor...

Just about any form of human endeavor can lead to a day in court, judging from two lawsuits filed last week in Torrance.

Genevieve McNair charged in a Superior Court suit that she was at Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach in June for a friend’s wedding shower, when she received a shower of her own.

McNair, 58, of Los Angeles, charged that she was soaked when city employees “negligently and carelessly” turned on park sprinklers. She slipped and fell as she and other guests scrambled to escape the water, according to the suit.

McNair sprained her shoulder and neck, said the suit, which names the city and the park employees and seeks unspecified damages.

“She got wet, but there is no evidence we are aware of that she was injured,” said Larry Peterson, risk manager for Manhattan Beach. “We aren’t saying that it didn’t happen. She might have witnesses of her own.”

Peterson said the sprinklers first were turned on by an automatic timer, then shut off for a short time before a park employee accidentally turned them on again. “He pushed the wrong button,” Peterson said. Since the dousing, employees have been reinstructed on how to shut off the sprinklers.

“I can understand she would be upset, but it’s the kind of matter you would hope you could settle short of a lawsuit,” Peterson said. Before filing the suit, McNair made a claim for unspecified damages to the City Council, which rejected it.

Maria Helena Hernandez and her family also had an unpleasant experience during a visit to the Waltmor coin laundry in Gardena, according to a suit filed by the family.

Hernandez put her daughter, Susy Ochoa, on a mechanical horse. When she deposited a quarter, the machine jerked violently upward and threw the girl to the ground, Hernandez’ suit charged.

She suffered a broken arm and cuts and bruises, and her mother was traumatized at seeing her daughter screaming in pain, the lawsuit alleged.

The family sued the laundry and operator T. Walter Monyawa, claiming that the ride was unsafe.

Monyawa could not be reached for comment.