Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer - ride injury

Orlando, Florida Theme Park Injury Reports

Ed Normand — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:55:02 GMT

For the second consecutive quarter, Disney World was the only major theme park in Florida to report any guest injuries. None of the other major theme parks - including Universal Studios, Sea World, Wet ‘n Wild, or Busch Gardens in Tampa, reported a single guest being injured in that time period. Disney World reported eight injuries occurring during the third quarter. Neither the Federal Government nor the State of Florida regulate the big theme parks and they are under a Florida based voluntary reporting system that has many loopholes. The lack of reported injuries for the last 6 months at all of the theme parks except Disney shows that the voluntary reporting system is not working and injuries are happening that are not being reported. This is clear from an examination of lawsuits filed against the theme parks. The lawsuits consistently relate to injuries at the parks that the parks never report to the State of Florida or anywhere else.

The injuries at Disney during the third quarter of 2009 include the following:
A 31-year-old woman had a seizure after riding the Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, and a 50-year-old woman experienced chest pains and shortness of breath after riding the same ride. A 54-year-old man had a seizure riding Star Tours, a full-motion flight simulator based on the Star Wars films. A 40-year-old man fell and broke his right wrist while getting off of Test Track, a simulated excursion through the rigorous testing procedures that GM uses to evaluate its cars, culminating in a high-speed drive around the exterior of the attraction. A 52-year-old woman complained of dizziness and memory loss after riding Mission: Space, which boasts that it realistically simulates an astronaut’s trip to Mars. A 66-year-old man felt sick after riding Expedition Everest, a high-altitude, high-speed roller coaster train ride to the “Roof of the World.” A 74-year-old woman lost her balance getting off of Peter Pan’s Flight, fell, and hit her head and broke her wrist. Finally, a 57-year-old woman passed out after riding Splash Mountain, and fractured her skull after collapsing on a concrete floor.

State regulators rely on the big theme parks to voluntarily report any significant injuries to guests. It is clear that many injuries are not being reported. According to these records, Disney is now falling far behind the other big theme parks’s safety records for the second straight quarter. With the lack of regulation it is not clear if this is a sign of safety issues at Disney or, more likely, that other parks are not reporting all the injuries at the parks. It is time that state regulators need to step in. Government oversight is needed as self-policing is clearly not working. For my previous blog on the injuries at the big theme parks for the second quarter of 2009, please check our prior blogs on Disney Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Order is Filed on Emergency Hearing in Disney Monorail Crash

Ed Normand — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:16:00 GMT

An emergency court hearing was held on July 14, 2009 in the crash that killed Disney monorail operator Austin Wuennenberg. Although no lawsuit has been filed by the Wuennenberg family, court documents reveal that lawyers for Christine Wuennenberg, mother of Austin Wuennenberg, petitioned the court for a Pure Bill of Discovery, which would allow access to evidence related to the crash. Ms. Wuennenberg’s attorney also requested, in the alternative, that the court grant an Order Preserving Evidence requiring Disney to preserve evidence, as there was reason to believe, based upon public reports, that evidence might be altered or destroyed.

In an order handed down on July 24, 2009, Circuit Judge Cynthia Z. Mackinnon denied the Pure Bill of Discovery requested by Ms. Wuennenberg’s attorneys. In a surprise move, the court also denied the Order Preserving Evidence, which now means, in the words of Ms. Wuennenberg’s petition, that she “will have no adequate remedy at law . . . and . . . will suffer irreparable injury.” The denial by the court is puzzling, as Florida law prohibits Disney from destroying evidence that could be material to any civil litigation. Evidence relating to the crash of the monorail would be material to civil litigation relating to Austin Wuennenberg’s death, and to deny an order requiring Disney to preserve such evidence appears to be inconsistent with Florida law. With evidence such as video recordings, photographs, and audio communications now often stored electronically, it is not unreasonable that a large company such as Disney might eventually re-record over such data. Ordering the preservation of such evidence seems to be the only proper decision in this matter. To its defense, perhaps the Court refused to grant to the order to preserve evidence because it felt that Disney would be subject to sanctions later if, indeed, it destroyed evidence.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Another Worker Dies At Disney

Ed Normand — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:32:20 GMT

With the third employee death at Disney World in the past seven weeks, serious questions are being raised about the safety regulations in place at the Theme Parks in Florida. Attorney Ed Normand of the Orlando law firm of Wooten, Kimbrough, Gibson, Doherty and Normand, P.A. was recently interviewed on Fox News about this troubling pattern of employee deaths. His interview and discussion about the lack of government oversight at theme parks such as Disney World can be found at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/nahz8n

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Unreported Theme Park Injuries

Ed Normand — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:04:35 GMT

We have been blogging a lot about the lack of reporting at the Federal, State and Local level of the injuries that happen at the big theme parks. It turns out that the local fair or a Greyhound bus have stronger inspections, standards and reporting requirements than the big 3 theme park operators do in Florida. In fact, the vast majority of injuries at theme parks are never reported or recorded by any governmental agency.

Lots of folks have chimed in on comments, public and private, who just dont believe that the theme parks have no regulation or reporting of injuries. Attached is a private email to the blog from a woman whose son was allegedly hurt on the way to a ride and you can see how she contends she was treated:

"Subject: Disneyworld
Body: I just saw your piece on the internet about injuries at DisneyWorld. Two years ago, while at Disneyworld with my daughter,her husband and my three grandchildren, it began to pour out so we were heading for a ride that had an awning over it for shelter. My son-in-law slipped on something and fell on top of my then 5 year old grandson. His knee was badly injured and was bleeding quite heavily. I asked the person for first aid assistance and was told no one in the park has first aid equipment and that we would have to take my bleeding grandson through the pouring rain to the front of the park for assistance from their paramedics. You can imagine how incensed I was with this answer. I asked to speak to her supervisor and her supervisor reiterated the same information. My grandson is bleeding heavily and crying hysterically and five of us have to run a mile with him in his dad's arms to some paramedic station that we are not sure where it is located. I put up a fuss and finally they called the paramedics station to come to the ride to adminiter first aid. I tried to notify DisneyWorld of this incident several times but to no avail. They would not return my calls or acknowledge the incident. Fat chance we are returning to DisneyWorld and I tell people all the time. YOU BETTER NOT GET HURT WHILE YOU'RE VISITING THERE."

We do not know her but we have heard of similar complaints. Perhaps if the theme park injures were recorded like every single car accident with injuires is in Florida then these situations could be reduced or eliminated.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Disney Bus Crash Highlights Legal Double Standard

Ed Normand — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:40:45 GMT

Of course we have all heard about the recent tragic death at Disney caused by two Walt Disney world monorail trains colliding. Recently, on July 16, there was a Disney bus crash where 12 people reported being injured when a Disney bus rear-ended another Disney bus in front of the Contemporary Resort. These crashes highlight another legal double standard that the theme parks have involving their transportation and ride systems in Florida.

The legal advantage relates to the liability of a common carrier. Traditionally the courts have held that common carriers involved in public transportation -buses, trains, airplanes etc...- are held to a higher standard of care than that required of personal use vehicles. Under traditional tort law the reasonable care required of a common carrier for the safety of a passenger is the highest degree of care consistent with the mode of transportation. Under this standard a common carrier must use the care that would be provided by very careful persons. Accordingly, a taxi, a city bus, or an airport transit must behave as a very careful person would do not just as a reasonable person would do. Of course, this higher standard makes sense because the common carrier is paid to look out for the safety of its passengers in the often dangerous business of transportation. Guests rely on these carriers to take extra precautions to look out for the safety of passengers and others in the zone of danger that the transportation creates.

In Florida, however, because the theme parks operate their buses, rides and trains in a closed system they claim that they are not held to the legal standard of a very careful person but claim a much lower standard of care applies to their activities. One way to look at it is like a grading system. A Greyhound bus, for instance, is held to an "A" standard in their operation. If they do not perform up to the A standard, then they are liable for any injuries resulting from their operations. Theme parks and others operating under a closed transportation system, however, can claim they can get by with a "C". That is if they operate only as an average driver (non-professional) driver/operator and someone is hurt they are not liable for any injuries they cause. This is true even if, had they been operating as very careful person, there would have been no injuries.

Other states do not have this double standard. In California, for instance, theme parks are held to the A standard and must operate their transport systems and rides in accordance with that of a very careful person. It seems reasonable to ask why a theme park in Florida can operate a bus or train or a ride under a standard of care less than that of a taxi driver. They certainly market their transport systems and rides to the public as top of the line safe. Why then should they get away with a much lower legal standard in court when it comes time to answer for injuries they cause? Maybe that is fair, maybe it is not, but in the interest of full disclosure perhaps all theme park boats, trains, rides and buses should come with a warning: "Caution: we get by with a "C" for safety, if you want an "A" take a taxi."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Theme Park Oversight Redux

Ed Normand — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:48:48 GMT

Wow did I get a lot of slack for suggesting that, god forbid, the NTSB was justified in investigating the Disney Monorail crash. My point, however, is not to imply that Disney runs an inherently safe or unsafe operation. My point is more, how do we know? Florida and the Federal Government both give the major theme parks in Florida a (no pun intended) virtual free ride when it comes to reporting accidents and injuries. The statutory accident reporting standards and statutory ride inspection systems for the Big Three theme parks in Florida are less than those for the merry go round at the County Fair or the local trolley in tourist town.

My point, therefore, is not that they are unsafe but that really nobody knows. I have sued Disney for injuries allegedly sustained on the Disney transportation system which I know for a fact were never reported by Disney to anyone despite that they knew of the injury immediately. The same is true for lots of lawsuits against the parks on lots of rides. So for everyone out there who comments that they love Disney and therefore it must be safe, my question is: How do you know? I sure don't and I have tried hard to find out. I can look up every injury on a Delta Airlines jet compare it to an American Airlines jet and decide which airline I wish to patronize. I can research public accident reports on pretty much every public bus injury. You just try and find out how many injuries have been alleged to occur on a particular ride. If you can find that out then you are better than any lawyer I know because our judicial system has also recently bent over backwards in local District Court Opinions that protect from discovery the secrecy of the number and type of other accidents at theme parks even in a lawsuit alleging injuries on the same ride or event.

Alas, we are thus stuck with taking the corporations at their word when they say that all they do is good and safe, fun and wonderful. Sounds a bit like our friends the bankers and the insurance companies. "Trust Us." That is why I am just asking for the theme parks to tell us who gets hurt and when and how. This is required in every single car crash in Florida, on every fair ride injury, why not then in the big theme parks? You would think, if the parks are as safe as these commentators shout, that they would proudly blast these statistics all over to show just how safe they are. I mean if there are no injuries, no accidents, then why not tell us? Who knows, they could even have rides with 5 star safety ratings and 4 star ones? I am being silly now, but seriously, with a ride reporting system then, like me, you could decide if you want to risk your little girl getting her face gashed and permanently scarred for life on a ride that does that. I know about that ride because I represented her. You don't because the cases are all made secret when resolved. My daughters won't ride that ride, I know some park employees’ kids won't either, and I just think you should have access to the same knowledge so you can make the same informed choice.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Theme Park Injuries Where the Ride Worked As Intended

Ed Normand — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:02:00 GMT

Lately we have been seeing inquiries from folks injured on theme park rides where the ride was operating as intended. Case in point, a visitor from England who sustained injuries including a compression fracture of the lumbar spine while riding on a water slide. She did nothing wrong, followed all instructions and yet was permanently damaged. As one would expect, the theme park lobby has effectively kept this type of information hidden from the public. A County Fair ride that caused such an injury would result in a report of the injury and a State inspection. The big theme parks in Florida are legally exempted from reporting an incident like this because of a loophole that allows the big three theme park companies to not report injuries if the person is not immediately sent to an emergency room and is admitted overnight or dies.

The law also favors the big theme parks. A rider injured on a ride must prove that the park was negligent in the way it operated or maintained the ride or in the warnings provided to customers. Of course, the only one who knows if the ride was not operated correctly on the date and time of the injury is the park operator. Since they have no duty to report the injury there is no timely investigation to prove negligence. The theme park can then do a Sergeant Schultz (remember from Hogan's Heroes: "I know nothing........"). More likely they will blame the visitor claiming they must have done something wrong. Florida law should be changed to make a theme park operator subject to the same legal standard as a product manufacturer, that is the the theme park operator is strictly liable for an injury that occurs on a ride when the rider was following ride instructions. After all if the ride is not safe to be used as intended then the park should be responsible for the injuries caused by the ride. If the ride is safe, as they advertise, then they will have nothing to worry about with a legal standard of strict liability.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand