Lawsuit Against Disney World Alleges “Catastrophic” Injuries on Water Slide
A new lawsuit has been filed against Disney World. A man is suing Walt Disney Parks after he suffered what he claims are “catastrophic injuries” while riding a water slide at Blizzard Beach. The lawsuit was filed in Orange County, Florida, recently by the plaintiff, who visited the park at Walt Disney World Resort on July 31, 2021, and slid down the Downhill Double Dipper, a high-speed water slide.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was 334 at the time he slid down the slide. He exceeded the ride’s weight limit of 300 pounds, the lawsuit alleges. The plaintiff “became momentarily airborne as a result of the ride’s ‘exhilarating speeds’ and design, resulting in DISNEY’s innertube becoming forcibly, suddenly, and unexpectedly dislodged from underneath Plaintiff’s body,” the lawsuit states.
As a result, he sustained “permanent catastrophic” injuries. The plaintiff accuses Walt Disney World of negligence and argues that Disney had a responsibility to fix the slide’s “dangerous conditions.” His lawsuit is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
When are amusement parks liable for a patron’s injuries?
Amusement park and carnival lawsuits fall under the category of premises liability law. That is, unless a specific ride is responsible for causing the patron’s injury. Then, it would fall under product liability law.
Premises liability is a type of personal injury lawsuit that seeks to hold property owners (those with control over the properties) financially liable for any injuries that were sustained by a patron. Obviously, amusement parks constitute a very large premises, so there’s a lot that can go wrong there. However, just because someone is injured, it doesn’t mean that the premises owner is liable for the injury. To establish liability, you must prove negligence.
Amusement park owners must follow strict safety protocols
The odds of being injured in an amusement park accident are relatively low. Nonetheless, there are still a lot of things that can go wrong. Given the risks, amusement park owners and ride operators follow a strict set of safety protocols to protect patrons from possible injury. To protect patrons, the park will shut down a ride if it is not safe.
There are some circumstances in which amusement park owners are liable for injuries. These include:
- Failing to remedy a dangerous condition within a reasonable amount of time after they learned or should have learned about the dangerous condition
- Fail to provide adequate security for patrons (negligent security)
- Not performing proper maintenance on their rides
- Keeping rides open when they know there are serious safety problems
- Failing to warn patients with certain health conditions that they should not go on specific rides
Talk to a Tampa, FL Amusement Park Liability Lawyer Today
Florin Gray represents the interests of those who have been injured at an amusement park. Call our Tampa personal injury lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your case right away.
Source:
nbcmiami.com/news/local/walt-disney-world-water-slide-injuries-lawsuit/3627656/
