Accidents happen — even in Disney World. While Disney makes a point to prioritize safety, it is inevitable that incidents will still occur. Some incidents may be minor, like a trip and fall in Magic Kingdom or a scrape in Animal Kingdom. But other incidents may cause more serious damage.
Surf Pool at Typhoon Lagoon
Recently, a Disney World guest filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts after an issue at Typhoon Lagoon Water Park.
Court records obtained by local news affiliate Click Orlando indicate that Laura Reyes-Merino is suing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts over an incident at the Humunga Kowabunga water slide at Typhoon Lagoon.
Typhoon Lagoon
The slide is described on the Disney World website as a “thrill ride,” more specifically, an enclosed body slide with a 214-foot downhill slope in the dark. The slide stands at about a “near-vertical” 60-degree angle.
©Disney
According to Click Orlando, a woman visited Typhoon’s Humunga Kowabunga attraction on May 11th. During the visit, her lawsuit states the guest allegedly “fell unconscious after ‘banging inside the ride,’ and her limp body was discovered by her fiancé and mother at the end.”
Typhoon Lagoon
Disney Cast Members — who were not certified lifeguards — informed the guest’s fiancé and mother that they would locate lifeguards to help. The lawsuit continued, “As they were all waiting for help, blood kept coming out of (Reyes-Merino’s) mouth in the water.”
Beach chairs at Typhoon Lagoon
Shortly after a lifeguard arrived, an ambulance was called, per Click Orlando. The lawsuit states that the lifeguard informed the guests that “they couldn’t help or touch Reyes-Merino,” and the plaintiff argues, “Had (Disney) had lifeguards at the end of the ride to watch and help guests coming off the ride, (Reyes-Merino’s) brain injury would not have occurred as she wouldn’t have been drowning in the water coughing up blood.”
Reyes-Merino is seeking over $50,000 in damages.
Typhoon Lagoon
This isn’t the first water slide-related lawsuit Disney has faced recently. In fact, another woman stated that she suffered serious injuries caused by going down that same waterslide at Typhoon Lagoon. She sued Disney for the injuries sustained while on the waterslide, per the Orlando Sentinel.
Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
In this case, the woman claims that she went airborne while riding the slide, and her impact into the standing water at the end of the slide caused “genital lacerations and internal organ damage, requiring two hospital visits for treatment.”
Read more here: Guest Sues Disney Over Waterslide Injury
Additionally, Fox35 Orlando reported that a woman named Sarah Carney and her attorneys filed a third lawsuit against Disney after an injury at the Animal Kingdom Lodge pool.
Animal Kingdom Lodge
While on the waterslide, the guest allegedly hit the bottom of the pool and sustained “bodily injury” that resulted in “pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, permanent and significant scarring, mental anguish, loss of the capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earning, loss of the ability to earn money, and aggravation of a previously existing condition.”
Read more here: Disney Named in Lawsuit Over Waterslide-Related Injury at Hotel
This is an ongoing case, and we will share any additional updates or comments from Disney. In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.
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So many people visit water parks. You visit them “at your own risk”. My family has never had a problem at any of them. Were these people possibly inebriated? Were they doing things that were unsafe while riding? When you don’t follow the rules, accidents can occur. While I am saddened to hear someone got hurt, individuals need to be responsible for their own behavior and must conduct themselves properly. I find it hard to believe someone sustained such serious injuries by just enjoying a ride.